spawn

1 of 2

verb

ˈspȯn 

ˈspän

spawned; spawning; spawns

intransitive verb

1

: to deposit or fertilize spawn

Adults of both species typically move seaward after spawning.

—Stephen L. Stone et al.

The female leaves her territory to spawn in one or more males' prepared nests.

—Sea Frontiers

2

: to produce young especially in large numbers

Because those tuna spawn in large concentrations within small areas of the Western Mediterranean, they are vulnerable to overfishing.

—Jared Diamond

3

: to be generated and appear in a video game

The enemies spawn randomly as you move through the level, which keeps things interesting but can make for some seriously tricky situations …

—Morgan Sleeper

transitive verb

1

a

: to produce or deposit (eggs)

—used of an aquatic animal

… spiny lobsters spend each summer spawning eggs before retreating to deeper waters for the winter.

—Jim Carlton

b

: to induce (fish) to spawn

Marine biologists have moved a step closer to their goal of restocking white sea bass along coastal waters by successfully spawning the fish …

—Glenn Burkins

c

: to plant with mushroom spawn

Drilling and spawning more holes will not produce more mushrooms, but it will speed up the colonization process for earlier fruiting.

—Tradd Cotter

2

: bring forth, generate

The idea spawned controversy.

Could the flap of a butterfly's wings over Brazil spawn a tornado over Texas?

—Richard Monastersky

… the game spawns enemies at different points every time, encouraging multiple playthroughs …

—Paddy Reilly

spawner noun

plural spawners

The steelhead is a spring spawner; coho and chinook spawn in fall.

—Nelson Bryant

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

The case spawned international headlines, podcasts, books and documentaries. — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026

In 2025, Your Local Epidemiologist spawned The Evidence Collective, and Marnik was hired as executive director this year. — Felice J. Freyer, STAT, 19 Aug. 2026

Noun

The premise is that the children of iconic Disney movie characters all live in the same world, with the spawn of villains having to make their own way in spite of their families' misdeeds. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 17 July 2026

While grunion spawn on many beaches in Southern California, the CDFW doesn’t recommend a particular beach to view grunion runs due to local curfews and changing safety conditions. — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 14 July 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