What does "reproduce" mean?

1. (to have offspring) to produce babies or new young plants. 2. (to copy or replicate) to make a copy of a picture, a sound, or a piece of writing. 3. (to recreate a result) to make something happen again in the same way.

reproduce

US //ˌɹipɹəˈdus// UK //ɹɪpɹədjˈuːs// re·pro·duce

1 to have offspring (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Biology

to produce babies or new young plants.

to produce offspring or new organisms by a sexual or asexual process.

Example

Most mammals reproduce by giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

Example

The virus requires a host cell to reproduce, hijacking the cellular machinery to create thousands of copies of its own genetic material.
- breed
- procreate
- propagate
2 to copy or replicate (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to make a copy of a picture, a sound, or a piece of writing.

to produce a copy or representation of something, such as an image, sound, or document.

Example

The colors in the book do not reproduce the original painting very well.

Example

Modern high-fidelity speakers are designed to reproduce the nuances of a live orchestral performance with remarkable accuracy.

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3 to recreate a result (v.)
C1 Advanced Academic Science

to make something happen again in the same way.

to cause something to happen again or to repeat a specific result, often in a scientific or experimental context.

Example

Other scientists were unable to reproduce the results of the first experiment.

Example

The researchers struggled to reproduce the initial findings under controlled laboratory conditions, leading to questions about the original study's methodology.

Origin

From re- + produce.

Word family

Verbreproduce
Adjectivereproducible