offspring

noun

off·spring | \ ˈȯf-ˌspriŋ

plural offspring also offsprings

Definition of offspring

1a : 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

2a : 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 sense 1a

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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 on the Web

That genetic trait could then get passed down, giving every male that inherits it the capacity to pass their mtDNA to their offspring. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "Plot twist: Mitochondrial DNA can come from both parents," 28 Nov. 2018 Parents of the Justin Bieber-obsessed might want to be extra nice to their offspring in the days to come: The superstar heartthrob has apparently gotten engaged to model Hailey Baldwin. — Randall Roberts, latimes.com, "Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin reportedly engaged," 8 July 2018 Eventually scientists will understand how parents can protect children from threats at the neural level, as well as how parents unwittingly pass along anxiety, depression, and other pathologies to their offspring. — Katherine Reynolds Lewis, The Cut, "Can Scientists Tell Me If I’m a Good Mom?," 17 Apr. 2018 Freckle, an Eagle Ray that lives at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia, gave birth to an offspring the staff have named Ani (short for Anakin Skywalker, better known as Darth Vader) through a scientific phenomenon known as parthenogenesis. — Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, "VIRGIN BIRTH! Stingray gives birth to 'Darth Vader' after cloning herself in scientific phenomenon," 30 Aug. 2018 The buzz all started back in 2016, when an international team of researchers conducted a nutritional analysis of the milk-like substance that female Pacific beetle cockroaches produce and feed to their offspring. — Amanda Macmillan, Health.com, "Is Cockroach Milk Really a New Superfood? Here's What We Know," 29 May 2018 Most of the 30 percent or so of snake species that give live birth don’t give much thought to their offspring, either. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Study Reveals Pythons Take Care of Their Offspring, For a Little While," 15 Mar. 2018 Child of Krakatau,’’ is the geologic offspring of the infamous Krakatau volcano, better known as Krakatoa, which was obliterated in a massive eruption in 1883 and caused the deaths of some 36,000 people. — I Made Sentana, WSJ, "Rain Slows Search for Tsunami Dead, as Indonesia Recalls 2004 Disaster," 26 Dec. 2018 Parents of young children often struggle to assess how upsetting a particular film will be for their offspring. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "We might be able to rate future films with a sniff test, study says," 25 Oct. 2018

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.