You can refer to a person's children or to an animal's young as their offspring.
[formal]
Eleanor was now less anxious about her offspring than she had once been.
Synonyms: child, baby, kid [informal], youngster More Synonyms of offspring
More Synonyms of offspring
offspring in British English
(ˈɒfˌsprɪŋ)
noun
1.
the immediate descendant or descendants of a person, animal, etc; progeny
2.
a product, outcome, or result
offspring in American English
(ˈɔfˌsprɪŋ)
nounWord forms: pluralˈoffˌspring or ˈoffˌsprings
1.
a child or animal as related to its parent
2.
a descendant or descendants collectively; progeny
3.
a product, outcome, or result
Word origin
ME ofspring < OE: see off1 & spring
Examples of 'offspring' in a sentence
offspring
Would the resulting offspring still be considered proper bison?
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
Indeed, when does don’t get enough to eat while pregnant and nursing, any male offspring they produce will have stunted antler growth for their entire lives.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
The safari staff hope that the happy couple will produce an offspring.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It found that the offspring of older parents produced fewer young.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
His youngest offspring is six months old.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
For how many of their twentysomething offspring are these parents supposed to do this?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Plants and animals produce far more offspring than can survive on limited amounts of food in a limited space.
Schneider, Hermann & Schneider, Leo The Harper Dictionary of Science in Everyday Language (1988)
The offspring that result from this unusual union are usually missing half of their genetic diversity and struggle to survive.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Now, an offspring of the original plant trails over the face of the rock.
Eddison, Sydney A Patchwork Garden: Unexpected Pleasures from a Country Garden (1990)
If you have young adult offspring, you may wish to look away now.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
These are the offspring of parents who began nesting around the beginning of April.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
After all, we produce offspring and we feed them from our bodies.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Other parents are spending large sums on courses, sports activities or solo holidays for their offspring.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There is a sense that she has sacrificed her life for her offspring, and now she expects her reward.
Butt, Gerald A Rock and a Hard Place (1994)
Nature notes The small birds that clamber about on tree trunks and large branches now have their offspring following them around.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
One or two Rutland offspring have now bred in Wales.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
As they would; these men are probably on to their third eight-year-old offspring by now.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
offspring
British English: offspring NOUN
You can refer to a person's children or to an animal's young as their offspring.
She was now less anxious about her offspring than she had once been.
American English: offspring
Brazilian Portuguese: prole
Chinese: 子女
European Spanish: descendencia
French: progéniture
German: Nachwuchs
Italian: prole
Japanese: 子
Korean: 자식
European Portuguese: prole
Latin American Spanish: descendencia
Chinese translation of 'offspring'
offspring
(ˈɔfsprɪŋ) (frm)
Word forms:ploffspring
n(c)
后(後)代 (hòudài)
1 (noun)
Definition
the immediate descendant or descendants of a person or animal
She was less anxious about her offspring than she had been.
Synonyms
child
This film is not suitable for children.
baby
We just had a baby.
kid (informal)
All the kids in my class could read.
youngster
infant
young mums with infants in prams
successor
babe
innocent as newborn babes
toddler
heir
issue
tot
The library was full of tots today.
descendant
They are descendants of the original settlers.
wean (Scottish)
little one
brat
bairn (Scottish, NorthernEngland)
nipper (informal)
I couldn't have been much more than a nipper when you last saw me.
chit
scion
He was the scion of an aristocratic family that lost its fortune in the revolution.
babe in arms (informal)
sprog (slang)
munchkin (informal, mainly US)
rug rat (slang)
littlie (Australian, informal)
ankle-biter (Australian, slang)
tacker (Australian, slang)
Opposites
parent
,
predecessor
,
ancestor
,
forerunner
,
forebear
,
forefather
,
progenitor
,
begetter
,
procreator
2 (noun)
Definition
the immediate descendant or descendants of a person or animal
Characteristics are often passed from parents to offspring.
Synonyms
children
kids (informal)
young
The hen may not be able to feed its young.
family
His family are completely behind him, whatever he decides.
issue
He died without issue in 1946.
stock
We are both from working-class stock.
seed mainly biblical)
a curse on my seed
fry
successors
heirs
spawn (derogatory)
They are the spawn of Bible-belting repression.
descendants
brood
Her parents took their rambunctious brood to the country most weekends.
posterity
the imputation of Adam's sin to all his posterity
lineage
They can trace their lineage back to the 18th century.
progeny
They set aside funds to ensure the welfare of their progeny.
scions
Additional synonyms
in the sense of babe
Definition
a baby
innocent as newborn babes
Synonyms
baby,
child,
innocent,
infant,
bairn (Scottish, NorthernEngland),
tacker (Australian, slang),
suckling,
newborn child,
babe in arms,
nursling
in the sense of baby
Definition
a newborn child
We just had a baby.
Synonyms
child,
infant,
babe,
wean (Scottish),
little one,
bairn (Scottish, NorthernEngland),
suckling,
newborn child,
babe in arms,
sprog (slang),
neonate,
rug rat (US, Canadian, informal),
ankle biter (Australian, slang),
tacker (Australian, slang)
in the sense of brood
Definition
all the children in a family: often used jokingly
Her parents took their rambunctious brood to the country most weekends.
Synonyms
children,
family,
offspring,
progeny,
nearest and dearest,
flesh and blood,
ainga (New Zealand)
Synonyms of 'offspring'
offspring
Explore 'offspring' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of descendant
Definition
a person or animal descended from an individual, race, or species
They are descendants of the original settlers.
Synonyms
successor,
child,
issue,
son,
daughter,
heir,
offspring,
progeny,
scion,
inheritor
in the sense of family
Definition
one's wife or husband and one's children
His family are completely behind him, whatever he decides.
Synonyms
relations,
people,
children,
issue,
relatives,
household,
folk (informal),
offspring,
descendants,
brood,
kin,
nuclear family,
progeny,
kindred,
next of kin,
kinsmen,
ménage,
kith and kin,
your nearest and dearest,
kinsfolk,
your own flesh and blood,
ainga (New Zealand),
cuzzies or cuzzie-bros (New Zealand),
rellies (Australian, slang)
in the sense of infant
Definition
a very young child
young mums with infants in prams
Synonyms
baby,
child,
babe,
toddler,
tot,
wean (Scottish),
little one,
bairn (Scottish, NorthernEngland),
suckling,
newborn child,
babe in arms,
sprog (slang),
munchkin (informal, US),
neonate,
rug rat (slang),
littlie (Australian, informal),
ankle-biter (Australian, slang),
tacker (Australian, slang)
in the sense of issue
Definition
the descendants of a person
He died without issue in 1946.
Synonyms
children,
young,
offspring,
babies,
kids (informal),
seed (biblical),
successors,
heirs,
descendants,
progeny,
scions
in the sense of kid
Definition
a young person
All the kids in my class could read.
Synonyms
child,
girl,
boy,
baby,
lad,
teenager,
youngster,
infant,
adolescent,
juvenile,
toddler,
tot,
lass,
wean (Scottish),
little one,
bairn (Scottish, NorthernEngland),
stripling,
sprog (slang),
munchkin (informal, US),
rug rat (US, Canadian, informal),
littlie (Australian, informal),
ankle-biter (Australian, slang),
tacker (Australian, slang)
in the sense of lineage
Definition
direct descent from an ancestor
They can trace their lineage back to the 18th century.
Synonyms
descent,
family,
line,
succession,
house,
stock,
birth,
breed,
pedigree,
extraction,
ancestry,
forebears,
progeny,
heredity,
forefathers,
genealogy
in the sense of nipper
Definition
a small child
I couldn't have been much more than a nipper when you last saw me.
Synonyms
child,
girl,
boy,
baby,
kid (informal),
infant,
tot,
little one,
sprog (slang),
munchkin (informal, US),
rug rat (slang),
littlie (Australian, informal),
ankle-biter (Australian, slang),
tacker (Australian, slang)
in the sense of posterity
Definition
all of one's descendants
the imputation of Adam's sin to all his posterity
Synonyms
descendants,
children,
family,
issue,
seed (biblical),
heirs,
offspring,
progeny,
scions
in the sense of progeny
Definition
offspring
They set aside funds to ensure the welfare of their progeny.
Synonyms
children,
family,
young,
issue,
offspring,
descendants
in the sense of scion
Definition
a descendant or young member of a family
He was the scion of an aristocratic family that lost its fortune in the revolution.
Synonyms
descendant,
child,
offspring,
successor,
heir
Additional synonyms
in the sense of seed
Definition
descendants
a curse on my seed
Synonyms
offspring,
children,
descendants,
issue,
race,
successors,
heirs,
spawn (derogatory),
brood,
sons and daughters,
progeny (old-fashioned),
scions (archaic)
in the sense of spawn
They are the spawn of Bible-belting repression.
Synonyms
offspring,
issue,
product,
seed (biblical),
progeny,
yield
in the sense of stock
Definition
the original type from which a particular race, family, or group is descended