offspring

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noun off·spring \ ˈȯf-ˌspriŋ \

Definition of offspring

plural offspring also offsprings

1 a :the product of the reproductive processes of an animal or plant :young, progeny

The disease can be transmitted from parent to offspring.

b :child

a mother of numerous offspring

2 a :product, result

scholarly manuscripts—the labored offsprings of PhDs
—Donna Martin

the substitution of the typewriter and its offspring for the author's own hand
—Jacques Barzun

b :offshoot 1a

See offspring defined for English-language learners

See offspring defined for kids

Examples of offspring in a Sentence

The disease can be transmitted from parent to offspring.
The show is about two couples and the adventures of their rebellious offspring.
The colt is the offspring of two racing champions.

Recent Examples of offspring from the Web

This will mean that the gene drive is passed on to all of that organism’s offspring.

— The Economist, "Gene drivesA promising means of pest control meets some evolutionary truths," 22 July 2017
Brooks said state veterinarian Tony Frazier is working with the USDA to follow the agency's contingency plan following the positive test, including identifying offspring of the infected cow.

— dennis pillion, AL.com, "What is 'atypical' mad cow? Alabama's bovine spongiform encephalopathy case explained," 19 July 2017
Its sperm and egg cells will thus bear two copies of the new gene, which radically increases the odds that its offspring will inherit it.

— kelly servick, Science | AAAS, "How will we keep controversial gene drive technology in check?," 19 July 2017
Rena Lovelis, the lead singer of the pop-punk, electro-pop, just plain pop band Hey Violet, is an indirect offspring of these singers, but has solved a conundrum none of them have quite mastered: how to make a bad attitude gleam.

— jon caramanica, New York Times, "Hey Violet and Terror Jr: The New Female Pop Rebels," 4 July 2017
The invasive moths and their offspring flourished during two years of drought: experts estimate that nearly 380,000 acres of woodlands were stripped of their leaves in 2015 and 2016.

— gregory b. hladky, courant.com, "Gypsy Moth Damage In Eastern Connecticut Is Widespread," 30 June 2017
Learning the flying trapeze is, after all, the most popular offspring of the traditional traveling circus, whose demise has unearthed a flourishing ecosystem of boutique circuses and participatory upstarts across the country.

— holly millea, Smithsonian, "Step Right Up! See the Reinvention of the Great American Circus!," 29 June 2017
Because of that, the legal standard is the state’s presumptive parentage law, which simply says a child is presumed to be the offspring of a man if he was married to the woman within 10 months of the child’s birth.

— bob christie, The Seattle Times, "Arizona Supreme Court to rule on same-sex parental rights," 27 June 2017
Among the second-generation offspring, one gene linked to nest building stood out—

— andrea marks, Scientific American, "Why Some Mice Seem to Make Bad Parents," 26 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'offspring.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.