Standard Lemma guide

offshoot

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈɔf.ʃuːt/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɒf.ʃuːt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AO1 F SH UW2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Something which shoots off or separates from a main stem or branch of a plant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • the offshoots of a tree

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Something which develops from something else.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • an offshoot of a criminal organization

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a natural consequence of development

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: outgrowth, branch, offset

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: consequence, effect, outcome, result, event, issue, upshot

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English off- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *(s)kéwdeti? Proto-Germanic *skuttōnąbf.? Proto-Germanic *skeutaną Proto-West Germanic *skeutan Old English sċēotan Middle English schoten English shoot English offshoot From off- + shoot.

Across languages

Translations

36 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: издънка (izdǎnka) — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Bulgarian: филиз (filiz) — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Catalan: rebrot — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Catalan: rebroll — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Catalan: relluc — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Chinese Mandarin: 分枝 (fēnzhī) — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Dutch: zijtak — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Finnish: sivuverso — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • French: rejeton — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Galician: trepeza — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • German: Ableger — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Ancient Greek: παραφυάς (paraphuás) — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Polish: odgałęzienie — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Polish: odnoga — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Spanish: vástago — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Swedish: avknoppning — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Swedish: skott — that which shoots off from a main stem
  • Bulgarian: разклонение (razklonenie) — that which develops from something else
  • Chinese Mandarin: 分支 (fēnzhī) — that which develops from something else
  • Chinese Mandarin: 衍生物 (yǎnshēngwù) — that which develops from something else
  • Chinese Mandarin: 支流 (zhīliú) — that which develops from something else
  • Chinese Mandarin: 旁系 (pángxì) — that which develops from something else
  • Dutch: uitloper — that which develops from something else
  • Finnish: rönsy — that which develops from something else
  • Finnish: haara — that which develops from something else
  • French: dérivé — that which develops from something else
  • German: Ableger — that which develops from something else
  • Polish: odgałęzienie — that which develops from something else
  • Polish: odnoga — that which develops from something else
  • Spanish: rama — that which develops from something else
  • Spanish: ramal — that which develops from something else
  • Spanish: ramificación — that which develops from something else
  • Spanish: derivado — that which develops from something else
  • Spanish: filial — that which develops from something else
  • Swedish: avknoppning — that which develops from something else
  • Ukrainian: відгалуження (vidhalužennja) — that which develops from something else