Meaning & use
reproduction
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablebiology
The process by which living things produce young of their own kind.
Grammar: No plural: human reproduction.
Patterns
- reproduction of something
- reproduction in something
Plants have several methods of reproduction.
The science class covered reproduction in mammals.
Warm weather speeds up the reproduction of bacteria.
nouncountable
A copy of a picture, document or piece of furniture made to look like the original.
Grammar: A reproduction is not the original: a reproduction of a painting.
Patterns
- a reproduction of something
The hotel hung a reproduction of a famous painting.
This table is a Victorian reproduction, not an antique.
Museum shops sell reproductions of old maps.
noununcountable
The act of copying something or recreating its sound or image.
Grammar: Often used with quality: sound reproduction.
Patterns
- reproduction of something
The reproduction of the sound was very clear.
Unauthorized reproduction of the book is illegal.
Color reproduction in print can differ from the screen.
Word forms
| plural | reproductions |
|---|
Common combinations
- sexual reproduction
- Sexual reproduction mixes genes from two parents.
- asexual reproduction
- Some plants spread by asexual reproduction.
- reproduction furniture
- They sell reproduction furniture.
- high-quality reproduction
- This is a high-quality reproduction.
- human reproduction
- The unit covers human reproduction.
Synonyms and how they differ
- breeding
- Breeding is used mainly of animals and often means controlled reproduction by people.
- copy
- Copy is the everyday word; reproduction suggests a careful, often skilled copy.
- replica
- A replica is an exact copy, often a smaller model.
- duplication
- Duplication is making an identical copy, usually with no skill involved.
Opposites
Word family
- reproduce verb
- to produce offspring or make a copy
- reproductive adjective
- relating to producing young
- reproducible adjective
- able to be repeated or copied
- reproducibility noun
- the ability to be repeated with the same result
Commonly confused: reproduction or production?
reproduction vs production
Production is making something new; reproduction is making a copy or offspring.
Practice
The museum sold a ______ of the painting, but the original hangs in Paris.
Choose one answer.
A reproduction is a copy of an original. Production and reduction sound similar but have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reproduction”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.