Offspring are the children or young of a person, animal, or plant. Your parents' offspring are you and your siblings. A dog's offspring are her puppies. A maple tree's offspring are the seedlings that sprout from its seeds.

The word works for any living thing that reproduces. Scientists studying wolves might track how many offspring each wolf has, while a farmer breeding horses keeps careful records of each mare's offspring. In biology class, you might learn how traits pass from parents to their offspring through genes.

The word sounds formal compared to “kids” or “children,” which is why you'll hear it more often in nature documentaries, science discussions, or when someone wants to sound a bit fancy. Someone might joke about introducing “my offspring” at a family gathering instead of saying “my children.”

Offspring can mean one child or many. A penguin couple might raise a single offspring each year, while a salmon can produce thousands of offspring at once. The word stays the same whether you're talking about one or many: “The cat's offspring are exploring the house” or “Each offspring has its mother's green eyes.”