spawned; spawning; spawns
1
: to deposit or fertilize spawn
2
: to produce young especially in large numbers
1
a
: to produce or deposit (eggs)
—used of an aquatic animal
b
: to induce (fish) to spawn
c
: to plant with mushroom spawn
2
: bring forth, generate
the idea spawned controversy
spawner
noun
Synonyms
Examples of spawn in a Sentence
Verb
The health-food craze spawned a multimillion-dollar industry.
the incident that spawned a generation of student protests
a TV show that spawned a host of imitations
Noun
Pacific salmon return to Alaskan streams to deposit their spawn.
sometimes I think those little brats are the spawn of Satan himself
Recent Examples on the Web
Leonard Armato, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
The 1804 revolution that overthrew colonial France was the most successful slave revolt in history and spawned the first free Black republic in the world.
—Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
Beams of energy collide with atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere, spawning charged subatomic particles like pions, muons, electrons, and positrons, whose ionized trails show up as spindly lines in cloud chambers.
—Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 23 Nov. 2023
Movies minted billions of dollars, sports king ESPN spawned staggering profits, and Disney’s theme parks teemed with delighted guests.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023
Surf’s up Reportedly one of the first places surfed on the mainland, Santa Cruz has spawned more than a few world-class professional surfers and boasts more than 10 surf breaks, with spots for all levels.
—Lauren Sloss, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Nov. 2023
Minor Threat have announced Out of Step Outtakes, a new three-song EP of recordings from the same sessions that spawned 1983’s Out of Step, the band’s third and final EP before breaking up.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 14 Nov. 2023
Something about the spirit of the franchise had traction, spawning midnight screenings and reissued soundtracks.
—Michael Cavna, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
Enlarge University of Arizona The hugely popular British quiz show Mastermind has been a fixture on BBC television since its debut in 1972, spawning multiple international versions as well as a video game and countless parodies.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Nov. 2023
Emma Spedding, Vogue, 31 Oct. 2023
The bright red color is adapted by both male and female sockeye, and shows a readiness to spawn.
—Jessie Sheldon, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Aug. 2023
Ironically, the variant’s flaw may be due to some of the 30-plus mutations that separate it from other Omicron spawn—a handful of which actually work against the virus.
—Byerin Prater, Fortune Well, 1 Sep. 2023
Here, Richard Donner uses a pint-size spawn of the devil to elicit his screams.
—Deanna Janes, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Aug. 2023
But the new findings suggest some salmon may be traveling farther north to spawn, rather than swimming back to their home waters, per the statement.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Oct. 2023
Historically, these fish spent most of their time in coastal estuaries, only running upriver into freshwater to spawn.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 19 Oct. 2023
Instead of returning to spawn in their home rivers, the University of Alaska team thinks, at some point individual chum salmon strayed north.
—WIRED, 18 Oct. 2023
Fish spawn in the many rivers, creeks, and freshwater lakes.
—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2023
See More
Verb
The end result will likely be a complicated, content-rich jigsaw puzzle capable of spawning valuable intellectual property.
—Leonard Armato, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
The 1804 revolution that overthrew colonial France was the most successful slave revolt in history and spawned the first free Black republic in the world.
—Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
Beams of energy collide with atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere, spawning charged subatomic particles like pions, muons, electrons, and positrons, whose ionized trails show up as spindly lines in cloud chambers.
—Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 23 Nov. 2023
Movies minted billions of dollars, sports king ESPN spawned staggering profits, and Disney’s theme parks teemed with delighted guests.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023
Surf’s up Reportedly one of the first places surfed on the mainland, Santa Cruz has spawned more than a few world-class professional surfers and boasts more than 10 surf breaks, with spots for all levels.
—Lauren Sloss, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Nov. 2023
Minor Threat have announced Out of Step Outtakes, a new three-song EP of recordings from the same sessions that spawned 1983’s Out of Step, the band’s third and final EP before breaking up.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 14 Nov. 2023
Something about the spirit of the franchise had traction, spawning midnight screenings and reissued soundtracks.
—Michael Cavna, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
Enlarge University of Arizona The hugely popular British quiz show Mastermind has been a fixture on BBC television since its debut in 1972, spawning multiple international versions as well as a video game and countless parodies.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Nov. 2023
Noun
This weekend Channing Tatum and Zoë Kravitz dressed as Rosemary Woodhouse and her Satanic spawn from the 1968 horror film Rosemary’s Baby, with Kravitz brandishing a knife.
—Emma Spedding, Vogue, 31 Oct. 2023
The bright red color is adapted by both male and female sockeye, and shows a readiness to spawn.
—Jessie Sheldon, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Aug. 2023
Ironically, the variant’s flaw may be due to some of the 30-plus mutations that separate it from other Omicron spawn—a handful of which actually work against the virus.
—Byerin Prater, Fortune Well, 1 Sep. 2023
Here, Richard Donner uses a pint-size spawn of the devil to elicit his screams.
—Deanna Janes, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Aug. 2023
But the new findings suggest some salmon may be traveling farther north to spawn, rather than swimming back to their home waters, per the statement.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Oct. 2023
Historically, these fish spent most of their time in coastal estuaries, only running upriver into freshwater to spawn.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 19 Oct. 2023
Instead of returning to spawn in their home rivers, the University of Alaska team thinks, at some point individual chum salmon strayed north.
—WIRED, 18 Oct. 2023
Fish spawn in the many rivers, creeks, and freshwater lakes.
—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spawn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English, from Anglo-French espandre to spread out, shed, scatter, spawn, from Latin expandere to expand
First Known Use
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of spawn was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near spawn
Cite this Entry
“Spawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spawn. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
spawn
1 of 2 verb
ˈspȯn 
ˈspän
1
: to deposit or fertilize eggs
fish swimming upstream to spawn
2
: to produce young especially in large numbers
3
spawner
noun
spawn
2 of 2 noun1
: the eggs of aquatic animals (as fishes or oysters) that lay many small eggs
2
: product sense 2, offspring
also
: something produced in large quantities
More from Merriam-Webster on spawn
Nglish: Translation of spawn for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of spawn for Arabic Speakers
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