offspring

«offspring» in Mova's school dictionary: the young of an animal or plant: its babies or seeds — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (offspring — same form for one and many)

meaning for a pupil

1) Offspring are the young of an animal or plant: its babies or seeds. tree →

2) (formal or jokey) A person's offspring are their children. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons it is used about life cycles, reproduction and inheritance: parents pass features to their offspring. In everyday speech parents sometimes say «my offspring» as a joke for «my kids». Phrases: «produce offspring», «parents and offspring».

examples

• A cat may have four offspring in one litter. tree →
• Frogs lay many eggs, and only some offspring survive. tree →
• Offspring often look like their parents. tree →
• Plants make seeds that grow into offspring. tree →
• The lion protects her offspring. tree →
• (jokey) Dad said, «Feed your offspring, they're hungry!» tree →
• Rabbits produce a lot of offspring each year. tree →
• How many offspring did the pair of birds raise? tree →
• We frequently find mention of Tritons who are either the offspring or kindred of Triton. tree →

note

Plural is the same: one offspring, five offspring (not «offsprings»). Takes a singular or plural verb depending on meaning. In maths problems «each pair has 6 offspring» means 6 young per pair: multiply by the number of pairs.

In the corpora

• Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
• Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
• If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; and his offspring shall not have bread enough.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «offspring» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.