Library / English Dictionary

REPRODUCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have offspring or produce more individuals of a given animal or plant

Example:

These bacteria reproduce

Synonyms:

multiply; procreate; reproduce

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "reproduce" is one way to...):

create; make (make or cause to be or to become)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reproduce"):

propagate (multiply sexually or asexually)

fructify; set (bear fruit)

breed; multiply (have young (animals) or reproduce (organisms))

brood; cover; hatch; incubate (sit on (eggs))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

reproduction (the sexual activity of conceiving and bearing offspring)

reproduction (the process of generating offspring)

reproductive (producing new life or offspring)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Repeat after memorization

Example:

For the exam, you must be able to regurgitate the information

Synonyms:

regurgitate; reproduce

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "reproduce" is one way to...):

echo; repeat (to say again or imitate)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make a copy or equivalent of

Example:

reproduce the painting

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "reproduce" is one way to...):

create; make; produce (create or manufacture a man-made product)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reproduce"):

double; duplicate; reduplicate; repeat; replicate (make or do or perform again)

duplicate (make a duplicate or duplicates of)

triplicate (reproduce threefold)

quadruplicate (reproduce fourfold)

reissue; reprint (print anew)

photocopy; run off; xerox (reproduce by xerography)

play back; replay (reproduce (a recording) on a recorder)

copy; imitate; simulate (reproduce someone's behavior or looks)

fingerprint (take an impression of a person's fingerprints)

print (make into a print)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

reproduction (the act of making copies)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Recreate a sound, image, idea, mood, atmosphere, etc.

Example:

He reproduced the feeling of sadness in the portrait

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "reproduce" is one way to...):

re-create (form anew in the imagination; recollect and re-form in the mind)

Domain category:

beaux arts; fine arts (the study and creation of visual works of art)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reproduce"):

catch; get (apprehend and reproduce accurately)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Did he reproduce his major works over a short period of time?

Credits

 Context examples: 

Each unique tendril structure can be reproduced by particular sets of geysers on the moon's surface.

(Icy Tendrils Reaching into Saturn Ring Traced to Their Source, NASA)

Any agent that prevents the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from reproducing.

(Anti-HIV Agent, NCI Thesaurus)

Some fungi reproduce through tiny spores in the air.

(Fungal Infections, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Semiautonomous, self-reproducing organelles that occur in the cytoplasm of all cells of most, but not all, eukaryotes.

(Mitochondrion, NCI Thesaurus)

Cells are highly variable and specialized in both structure and function, though all must at some stage replicate proteins and nucleic acids, utilize energy, and reproduce themselves.

(Murine Cell Types, NCI Thesaurus)

All of these appear to converge on an IGF-1 receptor pathway and to reproduce many of the effects of caloric restriction.

(Longevity Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

A dose at which an infectious organism can reproduce in the host or the system in which it has been inoculated and to produce measurable effect(s).

(Infectious Dose, NCI Thesaurus)

Laboratory methods used to generate cells that are able to reproduce indefinitely.

(Immortalization, NCI Thesaurus)

Unicellular, prokaryotic organisms that reproduce by cell division and usually have cell walls; can be shaped like spheres, rods or spirals and can be found in virtually any environment.

(Bacteria, NCI Thesaurus)

The hardiest of the microbes were able to reproduce even in the presence of extremely unfriendly chemicals, such as ammonia and carbon monoxide.

(Scientists: Life Can Thrive in Most Extreme Environments, George Putic/VOA)