spawn
Americannoun
plural
spawn, spawns-
Zoology. the mass of eggs deposited by fishes, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, etc.
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Mycology. the mycelium of mushrooms, especially of the species grown for the market.
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Usually Disparaging. a swarming brood; numerous progeny.
Diners at the restaurant were annoyed by the two inconsiderate parents and their unruly spawn.
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any person or thing regarded as the offspring of some stock, idea, etc.
adjective
verb (used without object)
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to deposit eggs or sperm directly into the water, as fishes.
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(of a character or item in a video game) to originate at a fixed point in an existing game environment.
An enemy character just spawned right on top of me!
noun
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the mass of eggs deposited by fish, amphibians, or molluscs
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derogatory offspring, product, or yield
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botany the nontechnical name for mycelium
verb
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(of fish, amphibians, etc) to produce or deposit (eggs)
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derogatory (of people) to produce (offspring)
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(tr) to produce or engender
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The eggs of water animals such as fish, amphibians, and mollusks.
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Offspring produced in large numbers.
Other Word Forms
- spawner noun
- unspawned adjective
Etymology
Origin of spawn
1350–1400; Middle English spawnen (v.), probably < Anglo-French espaundre ( Old French espandre ) to expand
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fist clenched over his heart, Westlake belted out God Save the Queen with such gusto, that images were shared widely across the internet, spawning a hashtag #DoItLikeHarry.
From BBC
They point to “Stranger Things” and how it spawned a conversation around “Dungeons & Dragons,” or the success of Disney+ series “Agatha All Along.”
From Los Angeles Times
Mr. Bird has history he’d like to forget, but, as Mr. O’Brien notes, he gave so many others memories they’ll always remember, spawning “an afterlife for Indiana State’s one shining moment.”
As the new AI generator spawned fabricated finales for “Game of Thrones” and fictional brawls between Thanos and Superman, Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros.,
From Los Angeles Times
It spawned press coverage across the country, with churches presenting their own evidence of young people "turning to Jesus", and Christian groups asking how to make the quiet revival "louder".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
