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
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
Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025
The controversy that surrounded Clemson’s birth was more than enough to spawn a heated rivalry between the two schools since 1896 that has persisted despite the two never sharing a conference.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The hell spawns change the game when five demons, led by Jinu, disguise themselves as the Saja Boys in attempt to win over the fans and steal their souls that way.
—EW.com, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for spawn
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Verb
Instead, the idea spawned from a meeting with their advisor, Joanne Bradford, who was the president of Honey, the online coupon extension that sold to PayPal for $4 billion in 2020.
—Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025
The controversy that surrounded Clemson’s birth was more than enough to spawn a heated rivalry between the two schools since 1896 that has persisted despite the two never sharing a conference.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Noun
Long-track supercells are large, long-lasting thunderstorm systems with the potential to spawn tornadoes that travel a significant distance.
—Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The hell spawns change the game when five demons, led by Jinu, disguise themselves as the Saja Boys in attempt to win over the fans and steal their souls that way.
—EW.com, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for spawn
Cite this Entry
“Spawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spawn. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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