breed
Americanverb (used with object)
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breeds,
present (3rd person singular)
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bred,
past participle, past
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breeding
present participle
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to produce (offspring); procreate; engender.
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to produce by mating; propagate sexually; reproduce.
Ten mice were bred in the laboratory.
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Horticulture.
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to cause to reproduce by controlled pollination.
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to improve by controlled pollination and selection.
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to raise (cattle, sheep, etc.).
He breeds longhorns on the ranch.
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to cause or be the source of; engender; give rise to.
Dirt breeds disease. Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes.
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to develop by training or education; bring up; rear.
He was born and bred a gentleman.
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Energy. to produce more fissile nuclear fuel than is consumed in a reactor.
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to impregnate; mate.
Breed a strong mare with a fast stallion and hope for a Derby winner.
verb (used without object)
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breeds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bred,
past participle, past
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breeding
present participle
-
to produce offspring.
Many animals breed in the spring.
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to be engendered or produced; grow; develop.
Bacteria will not breed in alcohol.
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to cause the birth of young, as in raising stock.
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to be pregnant.
noun
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breeds
plural
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Genetics. a relatively homogenous group of animals within a species, developed and maintained by humans.
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lineage; stock; strain.
She comes from a fine breed of people.
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sort; kind; group.
Scholars are a quiet breed.
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Disparaging and Offensive. half-breed.
verb
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to bear (offspring)
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(tr) to bring up; raise
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to produce or cause to produce by mating; propagate
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to produce and maintain new or improved strains of (domestic animals and plants)
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to produce or be produced; generate
to breed trouble
violence breeds in densely populated areas
noun
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a group of organisms within a species, esp a group of domestic animals, originated and maintained by man and having a clearly defined set of characteristics
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a lineage or race
a breed of Europeans
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a kind, sort, or group
a special breed of hatred
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To produce or reproduce by giving birth or hatching.
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To raise animals or plants, often to produce new or improved types.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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breedsimple
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breedssimple
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have bredperfect
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has bredperfect
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am breedingprogressive
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are breedingprogressive
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is breedingprogressive
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have been breedingperfect progressive
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has been breedingperfect progressive
Past
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bredsimple
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had bredperfect
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was breedingprogressive
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were breedingprogressive
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had been breedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of breed
before 1000; Middle English breden, Old English brēdan to nourish (cognate with Old High German bruotan, German brüten ); noun use from 16th century
Explanation
To breed is to have babies, whether you’re a human or a hermit crab. A breed is also a specific type of a domesticated species, like a poodle or Great Dane. The word breed comes from the Old English bredan which means to "bring young to birth," but also "cherish,” which is how most people feel about their offspring. Awwwww. But the fact is that breeding is reproducing. Also, a breed is a strain or stock of a species, such as a Siamese cat. There are many types of dog breeds, cow breeds, and even pig breeds. Members of a breed usually look and behave in a similar way.
Vocabulary lists containing breed
Word Generation Science - Life Science
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Genetics - Inheritance and Variation of Traits
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"A Modest Proposal," Vocabulary from the satire
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Elephant seals and sea lions bark and breed on its sandy coves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
She said she got on with Keven Jones "really well", and he had owned several dogs during his life, including a boxer and a "Bully breed" at the time of his death.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Environmentalists also say river bank fortifications destroy shallow-water zones where aquatic life and insects breed -- and the adjoining natural floodplains that act like sponges at times of excess water.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Weary of venomous snake bites, British authorities put a bounty on dead cobras — but this only incentivized locals to breed more of the snakes, in order to collect even more reward money.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
They’re my favorite breed of chicken we raise.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Researchers have identified genes in Tibetan dogs that allow them to function in oxygen-poor conditions that would challenge breeds from lower elevations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Now she breeds her own yaks on 120 acres of pasture, foothills and mesa tops high in bucolic Ridgway, about 290 miles west of Denver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Large dogs die sooner than small ones, and Loyal’s theory is that breeding dogs to be very large has left some breeds with persistently high levels of IGF-1.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Only about two dozen were adopted domestically, partly due to South Koreans' preference for small breeds better suited to apartment living.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
He looked at dog breeders, who created new breeds by selecting for traits they wanted.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
Unlike cows, Garner said, yaks have not had all their wildness bred out of them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
The species at one time bred along the Exmoor coastline, which continues to provide ideal foraging, including an abundance of fish, and breeding habitat for the birds.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The mosquitoes that bred in settlements eventually evolved a preference for blood meals from their human neighbors, who were now the most available food source.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
At this rainforest-like indoor farm, where creatures such as coral, tropical fish and sea cucumbers inhabit different aquariums, Kinjo bred "miracle coral" with extra resistance to warmer water.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
"He's got too much wolf in him. His father came from Baffin Bay and had a lot of wolf blood. They bred him to a Siberian husky. So he's mostly wolf."
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
KD1 is nearing the breeding age of five.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Their species is critically endangered and zoologists have found a suitable male breeding match at a zoo in The Netherlands.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Vultures consume dead animals within hours, helping prevent carcasses from becoming breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria and diseases.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Female cats begin breeding when the weather starts to get warmer, according to Michelson Found Animals, an animal welfare nonprofit funded by surgeon and philanthropist Dr. Gary K. Michelson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The reactors at Hanford, however, were breeding plutonium in sufficient volume to make a test feasible and provide for an unlimited number of plutonium bombs afterward.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
