DictionaryAI

reproduce

verb
ree-pruh-DOOS/ˌɹi.pɹəˈdus/ree-pruh-DYOOS/ˌɹiː.pɹəˈdjuːs/

Formsreproduces, reproducing, reproduced

4 meanings of reproduce

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive
    To make an image or copy of something.

    Modern scanners reproduce fine artwork with remarkable accuracy.

    The book reproduces several letters from the original archive.

    Similarcopy, duplicate, replicate, reprint

  2. 2
    verbtransitive or intransitive
    To generate offspring or new organisms, either sexually or asexually.

    Most amphibians reproduce in water during the wet season.

    The herd reproduced enough calves to double its size.

    Similarbreed, procreate, multiply, propagate, spawn

    Note

    Biology's verb for making more of one's kind, and it works in two constructions. Usually the organism is simply the subject, with no object: amphibians reproduce in water. It can also take what is produced as its object, as in the Thai Constitutional Court ruling reported by Thai PBS in 2021, which spoke of couples living together "to reproduce their offspring." That object is largely redundant, since reproducing already implies offspring.

  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To produce or create something again, recreating its earlier form or effect.

    The lab failed to reproduce the controversial results.

    Her staging reproduces the energy of the original performance.

    Similarreplicate, recreate, repeat, duplicate, recapture

    Note

    The most literal reading of the word, which is simply re- added to produce: to bring something about a second time. Where the copying sense makes a likeness of an object, this one makes the thing or effect happen again, as when a lab reproduces a result. The test is whether a model sits beside the copy. A reproduced painting has one, but a reproduced result simply recurs.

  4. 4
    verbtransitive
    To call something back to mind; to recall it.

    Witnesses rarely reproduce events exactly as they happened.

    She could reproduce long passages of text after a single reading.

    Similarrecall, recite, recount, remember

    Oppositeforget

Practice

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Origin

Formed from the prefix "re-" combined with "produce."