offspring

noun

off·​spring ˈȯf-ˌspriŋ 

plural offspring also offsprings

1

a

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

The disease can be transmitted from parent to offspring.

b

: the immediate descendant of a person or animal : an individual born of a parent

gave birth to a single offspring

"… He was becoming irascible as well, impatient—with me especially, because I was his only offspring [=child]. …"

—Anthony Hopkins

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 sense 1a

… you can hear this Caribbean club music, a hard-edged and party-heavy offspring of reggae …

—Lorraine Ali

Synonyms of offspring

• fruit
• progeny
• seed
• child
• family
• posterity

Examples of offspring in a Sentence

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

Domestic animals become feral by surviving on their own in the wild and raising their offspring without help from humans. —Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 17 June 2026

Sustain the releases across a wide enough area for long enough, and the population starves itself of offspring and collapses. —Gretchen Wittenmyer-Stone, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 June 2026

Enslavement or freedom was passed down to the child through the mother, meaning white men could augment a workforce trafficked from Africa by raping with impunity and enslaving their offspring. —Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026

According to the Audubon Zoo, the facility's reptile building is closed to visitors for renovation, but its herpetology department is currently caring for a breeding colony of 21 adult pine snakes, which produce offspring each year that are released into the wild. —Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 12 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ofspring, from Old English, from of off + springan to spring

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for offspring

• bowstring
• coiling
• downswing
• drawstring
• forewing
• hamstring
• lapwing
• mainspring
• plaything
• shoestring
• texting
• upswing

Kids Definition

offspring

noun

off·​spring ˈȯf-ˌspriŋ 

plural offspring also offsprings

: the young of a person, animal, or plant

Medical Definition

offspring

noun

off·​spring ˈȯf-ˌspriŋ 

plural offspring also offsprings

: the progeny of an animal or plant : young