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

Verb

• beget
• breed
• bring
• bring about
• bring on
• catalyze
• cause
• create
• do
• draw on
• effect
• effectuate
• engender
• generate
• induce
• invoke
• make
• occasion
• produce
• prompt
• result (in)
• translate (into)
• work
• yield

Noun

• fruit
• get
• issue
• offspring
• posterity
• progeny
• seed

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 pond loach can reduce aquatic insect biodiversity and compete with native fish species for food and spawning habitat. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 23 June 2025

Scientists have only recently begun to understand more about how planetary phenomena work together to spawn or suppress tropical storms and hurricanes. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 22 June 2025

Noun

The fishing industry depends on fall-run Chinook, which migrate upstream to spawn from July through December. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025

And then there’s the manic spawn of white rappers becoming underground icons, from Brennan Jones’ Glokk40Spaz cosplay to more respectable artists like ian and Nettspend, who started in the underworld but have since joined major labels and tempered their sound for mass appeal. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 4 June 2025

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