interbreed
Americanverb (used with object)
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interbreeds,
present (3rd person singular)
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interbred,
past participle, past
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interbreeding
present participle
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to crossbreed (a plant or animal).
-
to cause to breed together.
verb (used without object)
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interbreeds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
interbred,
past participle, past
-
interbreeding
present participle
-
to crossbreed.
-
to breed or mate with a closely related individual, as in a small, closed population.
verb
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(intr) to breed within a single family or strain so as to produce particular characteristics in the offspring
-
another term for crossbreed
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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interbreedsimple
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interbreedssimple
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have interbredperfect
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has interbredperfect
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am interbreedingprogressive
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are interbreedingprogressive
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is interbreedingprogressive
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have been interbreedingperfect progressive
-
has been interbreedingperfect progressive
Past
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interbredsimple
-
had interbredperfect
-
was interbreedingprogressive
-
were interbreedingprogressive
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had been interbreedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of interbreed
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:
Scientists also found little evidence that wrens from Shetland and St Kilda regularly interbreed with mainland populations.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026
These two broods may actually overlap — but probably not interbreed — in a small area near central Illinois, entomologists said.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
Barred owls and northern spotted owls are closely related and can even interbreed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024
"These two species are interfertile, meaning that they can interbreed and produce viable offspring," the Center stated on its website.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2023
If those desirable mutants proceeded to interbreed with normal plants, the mutation would immediately be diluted or lost.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Gavæus frontalis interbreeds freely with domesticated cattle of all kinds.
From Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Robert Armitage Sterndale
It interbreeds in Siberia with C. caniceps, an East Siberian form.
From The History of the European Fauna by Robert Francis Scharff
Some naturalists would separate them from the other cats, but the connection is supplied by the last species which, though possessing certain features of the lynx, yet interbreeds with the true cats.
From Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Robert Armitage Sterndale
This hominin descended from a lineage dating back about 1.8 million years and appears to have interbred with Denisovans in Eurasia, probably more than 200,000 years ago.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
In 2010 scientists reconstructed the Neanderthal genome -- blockbuster research that allowed for analysis making clear that the species interbred.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
The research for the first time pinpoints a short period 48,000 years ago when Homo sapiens interbred with Neanderthals after leaving Africa, after which they went on to expand into the wider world.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2024
This means Thorin's genome was full of the variants one usually sees with recent inbreeding, a striking feature given other modern humans lived nearby with whom Thorin's Neanderthal community could have interbred.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2024
The old lean, long-horned cattle had been interbred with white-faced Herefords, and the sleek coats of their progeny were stretched over twice the former weight of beef.
From Heart of the Sunset by Rex Ellingwood Beach
According to the researchers, interbreeding between ancient humans and Denisovans left behind many genetic variants that remain present in people today.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026
"Because the two species were capable of producing offspring together, their interactions were likely complex, involving competition, occasional interbreeding and other subtle population dynamics."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 28, 2026
But over hundreds of millennia, human migrations resulted in interbreeding, researchers say.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
They said that could lead to the wildcats breeding with feral domestic cats, with such interbreeding – also known as hybridisation - undermining the whole idea of bringing back the species.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2025
Imagine a population of organisms with gene variants that are capable of interbreeding.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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