spawn

1 of 2

verb

ˈspȯn 

ˈspän

spawned; spawning; spawns

intransitive verb

1

: to deposit or fertilize spawn

2

: to produce young especially in large numbers

transitive verb

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

spawn

2 of 2

noun

1

: the eggs of aquatic animals (such as fishes or oysters) that lay many small eggs

2

: product, offspring

also : offspring in great numbers

3

: the seed, germ, or source of something

4

: mycelium especially prepared (as in bricks) for propagating mushrooms

Synonyms of spawn

Verb

• create
• cause
• generate
• bring
• produce
• prompt
• do

Noun

• offspring

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

Verb

New church Less than a generation later, the Protestant Reformation transformed Christianity, dividing Europe and spawning brutal violence. — Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 24 June 2026

Apollo’s early-2010s bet on its insurer Athene spawned a decade of copycats, and over the past few years most big alternative asset managers have either bought a life-insurance company or launched dedicated businesses to manage their money. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 23 June 2026

Noun

El Nino’s impacts spawn winners and losers The weather pattern’s effects vary by region. — Seth Borenstein, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2026

The risk is elevated by the hottest days of the year so far, and the storms have the potential to do significant damage and spawn multiple tornadoes. — Laura Bannon, CBS News, 10 June 2026

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

Rhymes for spawn

• aune
• bon
• bonne
• brawn
• chon
• con
• conn
• crohn
• dawn
• drawn
• fawn
• gone

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

: generate, bring forth

spawner noun

spawn

2 of 2 noun

1

: 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