reproduce

To reproduce means to make something again or bring out the same result. An artist might reproduce a painting as prints, and a book might reproduce an old photograph on its pages. In science, researchers reproduce an experiment to check whether they get the same result. In biology, living things reproduce by having young or making new life. A cat has kittens, a tree grows from seeds, and bacteria divide to make more of the same kind. In each case, the main idea is that something is made again.

The word "reproduce" has several related meanings, all built around the idea of "making again." At its most basic, it means to create a copy of something or to show it again in the same form. A photographer might reproduce an image in a book or in different sizes, and a publisher might reproduce a letter, map, or painting for readers to see.

The word is also strongly connected with biology: living things reproduce when they create new individuals of the same kind. This can happen sexually, with two parents, or asexually, from a single parent. Bacteria divide, flowers make seeds, and animals have babies. This meaning is central to how life continues from one generation to the next.

Beyond copying and biology, "reproduce" can also mean to repeat or recreate something closely. A scientist may try to reproduce earlier results. A machine may reproduce a sound. A person may reproduce someone else's words, either in speech or in writing.

So whether it is about making a copy, getting the same result again, or producing new life, "reproduce" is about bringing something back in the same or a very similar form.