hatchery

American  

[hach-uh-ree] / ˈhætʃ ə ri /

noun

• hatcheries
  plural

1. a place for hatching eggs of hens, fish, etc., especially a large, commercial or government site where the young are hatched, cared for, and sold or distributed.

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hatchery British  

/ ˈhætʃərɪ /

noun

1. a place where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subhatchery
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hatcheries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hatchery

First recorded in 1875–80; hatch ¹ + -ery

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Explanation

A hatchery is a place where fish or bird eggs are hatched. Do you want to raise chickens so you can have fresh eggs every day? You'll probably buy your birds as babies from a hatchery. Small poultry hatcheries produce chicks that are usually sold to backyard farmers. Larger poultry hatcheries are more like factories, supplying chickens for meat or eggs to enormous corporations. Fish hatcheries are an important part of fish farming, providing a safe place for eggs to hatch and fish to grow large enough to be used for food.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hatchery hatcheries

The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District even has its own fish hatchery, where it rears the aptly named Western mosquitofish.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

The pond dried up in the 1970s after two wells were drilled as part of an expansion of the nearby fish hatchery at Fish Springs, and as pumping lowered the water table, Williams said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2025

Chris Weston, senior hatchery technician at the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Cornwall, has observed colour changes in lobsters raised in captivity.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025

"Interestingly, when we deploy them into containers in the sea, they often shift to a darker, more natural blue. But when they return to the hatchery, they become lighter again."

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025

Although studies are still under way to determine the exact cause of this epidemic over so wide an area, the best evidence is said to point to some agent present in the prepared hatchery feeds.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

As Mr. Ogilvy writes, “now the abalone live in hatcheries, the sardines in tanks, the tuna in the fish holds of charter boats and gourmet custom cans.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

As detailed by National Geographic, it is a common practice in salmon hatcheries to harvest salmon sperm, which requires a scientist to squeeze a salmon in the right spot — also known as abdominal massaging.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2024

In January, Newsom responded to the salmon crisis with an action plan encompassing restoring salmon habitats, modernizing hatcheries, and removing impediments to salmons’ upstream migrations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2024

Many are now raised in government-run hatcheries before being released back into their native waters to later return to those same hatcheries.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2024

In the spring of 1961 an epidemic of liver cancer appeared among rainbow trout in many federal, state, and private hatcheries.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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