spawn
/spɔːn/ (bre, ipa) · /spɑːn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈspȯn ˈspän/ (ame, mw) · /spɔːn/ (ame, ipa)
spawn — 名詞
- spawnsingular
- spawnsplural
1. the small, soft eggs that fish, frogs, and other water animals lay together in a
魚卵
魚類或蛙類產下的卵塊
the small, soft eggs that fish, frogs, and other water animals lay together in a sticky mass in the water.
Élise and Trang watched the frog spawn floating near the edge of the pond.
Élise 和 Trang 看著池塘邊漂浮的青蛙卵。
uncountable noun with modifier: frog spawn
During spring, the shallow stream was filled with sticky frog spawn.
春天時，淺淺的小溪裡滿是黏糊糊的青蛙卵。
Scientists collect salmon spawn every year to study the young fish.
科學家每年收集鮭魚卵來研究幼魚。
A single carp can release thousands of eggs in one mass of spawn.
一條鯉魚一次可以產下數千顆卵。
用法筆記
Treated as an uncountable noun even though it refers to many small eggs. You say 'some spawn' or 'a mass of spawn,' never 'a spawn' or 'two spawns.'
常見錯誤
2. an animal's baby or a person's child, seen primarily as an extension or outcome
後代
年幼動物或孩子（常帶貶義）
an animal's baby or a person's child, seen primarily as an extension or outcome of their parent — often used playfully, or to show that the speaker is not particularly impressed.
The old cat brought her newest spawn into the kitchen and meowed for milk.
老貓叼著牠剛出生的小貓走進廚房，喵喵叫著要牛奶。
humorous use for animal young
Yara laughed and said her neighbour's spawn had drawn all over the wall with crayons.
Yara 笑著說鄰居的小孩用蠟筆在牆上畫得到處都是。
informal, slightly dismissive
The new smartphone is the spawn of years of research at the small lab.
這款新智慧型手機是那個小實驗室多年研究的成果。
Every afternoon the park filled with tiny spawn running around the playground.
每天下午，公園裡到處都是跑來跑去的小朋友。
用法筆記
Strongly informal. Using 'spawn' for a person's children can sound rude or dismissive unless the context is clearly playful. Avoid in formal writing about families. The figurative use ('the spawn of years of work') is neutral and can appear in semi-formal contexts.
常見錯誤
3. a character or object that a video game makes available when a player reaches a
生成物
電玩中首次出現的角色或物品
a character or object that a video game makes available when a player reaches a certain point; also the place or process of such arrivals — for example, the spot where new enemies materialise in a level, or the moment a rare item becomes accessible.
Arjun found a rare spawn of creepers deep inside the cave.
Arjun 在洞穴深處發現了罕見的苦力怕生成點。
countable: a rare spawn
The game's random spawn system puts enemies in places no one expects.
這款遊戲的隨機生成系統會把敵人放在沒人料想到的地方。
Henry marked the spawn of valuable items on his in-game map.
Henry 在地圖上標記了稀有物品的生成位置。
Players complained when the boss spawn appeared too early in the level.
玩家抱怨頭目角色在關卡中出現得太早了。
用法筆記
Used both as a countable noun ('a rare spawn') and as an uncountable noun referring to the mechanism ('the spawn system'). In gamer slang, 'spawn camping' means waiting at a spawn point to attack characters the moment they appear.
spawn — 動詞
- spawnpresent simple I / you / we / they
- spawnshe / she / it
- spawnedpast simple
- spawning-ing form
1. to cause a large number of new things, events, or ideas to appear or develop, of
催生
引起大量新事物發生或發展
to cause a large number of new things, events, or ideas to appear or develop, often suddenly — for example, a piece of technology that creates an entire industry, or a conflict that produces many related problems.
The new railway line spawned dozens of small shops along the route.
新的鐵路沿線催生了數十家小店鋪。
spawn + noun phrase (concrete result)
Omar's simple invention spawned a whole new way for people to communicate online.
Omar 的簡易發明催生了一種全新的線上溝通方式。
spawn + abstract noun phrase
The long drought spawned fierce conflicts between farmers over the remaining water.
長期的乾旱在農民之間引發了關於剩餘水資源的激烈衝突。
Social media has spawned many new types of small online businesses in recent years.
近年來，社群媒體催生了許多新型的小型網路企業。
Kemi's workshop spawned ideas that changed how the school taught art to young children.
Kemi 的工作坊催生了一些想法，改變了學校教兒童美術的方式。
- generate
more neutral and widely applicable; lacks the 'sudden large-scale' nuance of spawn
- produce
broader in meaning; used for both concrete items and abstract results
- give rise to
more formal; focuses on causation rather than scale
- breed
similar biological metaphor; has a more negative connotation than spawn
文法句型
spawn + noun phrase
be spawned (passive)
用法筆記
Unlike 'produce' or 'create,' spawn emphasises that the result appears in large numbers or across a wide area, often in a way the original cause did not plan or intend. The subject is usually an event, condition, invention, or idea — rarely a person acting deliberately.
常見錯誤
2. (in video games) to show up in the game world as part of the game's mechanics; o
生成
電玩角色或物體在遊戲中首次出現
(in video games) to show up in the game world as part of the game's mechanics; or to place a character, object, or enemy into the game — for example, enemies that arrive at a location when a player enters it, or a player who returns to a starting point after losing a life.
New enemies spawn at random points every time you enter the dark forest.
每次你進入黑暗森林，新的敵人都會在隨機位置出現。
intransitive: enemies spawn
Yan waited near the bridge for the treasure chest to spawn.
Yan 在橋邊等待寶箱出現。
The game spawns fresh opponents at each checkpoint along the mountain road.
遊戲在山路的每個檢查點都會生成新的對手。
Quinn's character did not spawn properly after the game server crashed.
Quinn 的角色在遊戲伺服器當機後沒有正常生成。
Fresh supplies spawn every morning at the same location inside the camp.
每天早晨，新的補給品會在營地內的同一地點出現。
文法句型
[character/object] spawns (intransitive)
spawn + [character/object] (transitive)
用法筆記
The most common use in online gaming communities. Transitive use ('the game spawns enemies') is typical when describing game design; intransitive use ('enemies spawn') is more common in player-to-player talk. The past tense is 'spawned' (not 'spawn' — that would be present tense for third-person plural).
常見錯誤
3. (of fish, frogs, and other water animals) to produce and release eggs into the w
產卵
水生動物產下卵子
(of fish, frogs, and other water animals) to produce and release eggs into the water, usually in large numbers and at a particular time of year such as spring.
Salmon swim hundreds of miles upstream each year to spawn in the same river.
鮭魚每年游數百英里逆流而上，回到同一條河中產卵。
intransitive with purpose clause
Frogs usually spawn in warm shallow water after the spring rains begin.
青蛙通常在春天降雨後於溫暖的淺水中產卵。
Heloísa watched the aquarium fish spawn among the plastic plants in the tank.
Heloísa 看著水族箱裡的魚在水草之間產卵。
Trout leave the deep lake every spring to spawn in streams above the village.
鱒魚每年春天離開深湖，到村莊上游的溪流中產卵。
The pond was full of frogs that had just finished spawning for the season.
池塘裡滿是剛完成產卵的青蛙。
- lay eggs
the general term for egg-producing animals; spawn is more specific to water animals
- produce eggs
more formal and technical; less commonly used in nature writing
文法句型
[fish/frog] spawns (intransitive)
spawn + eggs (transitive, less common)
用法筆記
Primarily intransitive — you say 'the frogs spawn in spring,' not 'the frogs spawn eggs.' The transitive form ('the fish spawns millions of eggs') exists but is far less common. In everyday English, this sense has been somewhat replaced by 'lay eggs' for most animals, but 'spawn' remains the standard word for fish and frogs.