Offspring

How it is used

Offspring has the same form in singular and plural. It is neutral and scientific, used for animals, plants and microbes. Common verbs: produce, raise, care for offspring. A more technical synonym is progeny.

Example sentences

1. Sea turtles produce hundreds of offspring, but very few survive to adulthood.

2. The offspring of the cross were all heterozygous.

Common collocations

• produce offspring
• fertile offspring
• number of offspring
• care for offspring

Related terms

• inheritTo receive genes, and the traits they control, from your parents. A trait that is inherited is passed from one generation to the next.
• sexual reproductionA form of reproduction in which two gametes, usually from two parents, fuse to form a new individual with a unique mix of genes.
• gameteA reproductive cell, such as a sperm or egg cell, that carries half the normal number of chromosomes. Two gametes join during fertilization to form a zygote.
• speciesA group of similar organisms that can breed with each other and produce fertile offspring. It is the basic unit used to classify living things.
• traitA characteristic of an organism, such as eye color, flower shape or blood type. Some traits are inherited through genes, while others are shaped by the environment.

More terms: Animal Biology and Physiology

• homeostasis
• immune system
• hormone
• neuron
• vertebrate
• antibody