Reproduction
- Date: 1659
Definitions
- 1 : the act or process of reproducing; specifically : the process by which plants and animals give rise to offspring and which fundamentally consists of the segregation of a portion of the parental body by a sexual or an asexual process and its subsequent growth and differentiation into a new individual
- 2 : something reproduced : copy
- 3 : young seedling trees in a forest
Synonyms
duplicate, copy, facsimile, replica mean a thing made to closely resemble another. reproduction implies an exact or close imitation of an existing thing <reproductions from the museum's furniture collection>. duplicate implies a double or counterpart exactly corresponding to another thing <a duplicate of a house key>. copy applies especially to one of a number of things reproduced mechanically <printed 1000 copies of the lithograph>. facsimile suggests a close reproduction often of graphic matter that may differ in scale <a facsimile of a rare book>. replica implies the exact reproduction of a particular item in all details <a replica of the Mayflower> but not always in the same scale <miniature replicas of classic cars>.
Description
Reproduction is the biological process by which new individual organisms are produced. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual organism exists as the result of reproduction. The known methods of reproduction are broadly grouped into two main types: sexual and asexual.
In asexual reproduction, an individual can reproduce without involvement with another individual of that species. The division of a bacterial cell into two daughter cells is an example of asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is not, however, limited to single-celled organisms. Most plants have the ability to reproduce asexually.
Sexual reproduction requires the involvement of two individuals, typically one of each gender.[1]
