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spawn

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To produce or deposit in water.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

spahn
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈspɑn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To produce or deposit (eggs) in water.

  2. transitive

    To generate, bring into being, especially non-mammalian beings in very large numbers.

  3. transitive

    To bring forth in general.

  4. intransitive

    To deposit (numerous) eggs in water.

  5. Call forth

  6. intransitive

    To reproduce, especially in large numbers.

noun

  1. The numerous eggs of an aquatic organism.

  2. Mushroom mycelium prepared for (aided) propagation.

  3. Any germ or seed, even a figurative source.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To produce or deposit (eggs) in water.

Used this way, spawn is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use spawn

  • “The salmon swims upstream to spawn.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

fish spawnsalmon spawn

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.