reproduction
Pluralreproductions (some meanings)
- 1The biological process by which living organisms produce new individuals of their own kind.
Sexual reproduction combines genetic material from two parents.
In many simple organisms, reproduction happens when a single cell splits in two.
Similarprocreation, breeding, propagation, multiplication
Note
Built from re- and production, the word means producing again. Here what is produced again is the species itself, as each generation makes its own kind anew. The same "again" sits behind a copy of a painting, which is why biology and the print shop share one noun. In scientific prose it keeps company with its adjective, as in reproductive roles, and with sperm, egg and evolution.
- 2
- 3The process of making copies of something.
Digital reproduction has made copying images almost instant.
The publisher controls the reproduction of every page in the book.
Similarcopying, duplication, replication, reprinting
- 4A series of steps that reliably triggers a bug or problem so it can be diagnosed and fixed.
The bug report included a step-by-step reproduction of the crash.
A reliable reproduction let the engineers trace the fault to a single line of code.
Note
Software teams use the word for a recipe rather than an act. A reproduction is the set of steps that makes a failure happen again on demand, so others can watch it and trace it. The usual request is for a minimum reproduction, stripped of everything not needed to trigger the fault. Unlike the copying sense, it is normally counted: you file a reproduction, or ask someone for one.
Practice
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Origin
Formed from the prefix re- combined with production.