breed

[ breed ]

/ brid /

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See synonyms for: breed / bred / breeding on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), bred, breed·ing.

to produce (offspring); procreate; engender.

to produce by mating; propagate sexually; reproduce: Ten mice were bred in the laboratory.

Horticulture.

to cause to reproduce by controlled pollination.
to improve by controlled pollination and selection.

to raise (cattle, sheep, etc.): He breeds longhorns on the ranch.

to cause or be the source of; engender; give rise to: Dirt breeds disease. Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes.

to develop by training or education; bring up; rear: He was born and bred a gentleman.

Energy. to produce more fissile nuclear fuel than is consumed in a reactor.

to impregnate; mate: Breed a strong mare with a fast stallion and hope for a Derby winner.

verb (used without object), bred, breed·ing.

to produce offspring: Many animals breed in the spring.

to be engendered or produced; grow; develop: Bacteria will not breed in alcohol.

to cause the birth of young, as in raising stock.

to be pregnant.

noun

Genetics. a relatively homogenous group of animals within a species, developed and maintained by humans.

lineage; stock; strain: She comes from a fine breed of people.

sort; kind; group: Scholars are a quiet breed.

Disparaging and Offensive. half-breed (def. 1).

OTHER WORDS FOR breed

1, 2 beget, bear, generate.

5 promote, occasion, foster, produce, induce, develop.

14 family, pedigree, line.

See synonyms for breed on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM breed

breed·a·ble, adjectiveo·ver·breed, verb (used with object), o·ver·bred, o·ver·breed·ing.re·breed, verb, re·bred, re·breed·ing.subbreed, noun

Words nearby breed

breeches part, breeching, breechless, breechloader, breechloading, breed, breeder, breeder reactor, breeding, breeding ground, breed of cat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use breed in a sentence

No, those dogs were trained to do that behavior, wouldn’t naturally have done that behavior, and there was nothing about the breed which is different.
Forget Everything You Know About Your Dog (Ep. 436)|Stephen J. Dubner|October 22, 2020|Freakonomics
Brazil’s herds are dominated by Nelore, a hardy breed that lacks the carcass and meat quality of breeds like Angus but can withstand high heat and humidity.
Biotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will It Succeed?|Dyllan Furness|August 16, 2020|Singularity Hub
Holstein cattle, which almost always carry horned genes, are highly productive dairy cows, so using conventional breeding to introduce hornless genes from less productive breeds can compromise the Holstein’s productivity.
Biotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will It Succeed?|Dyllan Furness|August 16, 2020|Singularity Hub
Scientists will have to look at the methylomes of different dog breeds to see if they differ.
To figure out your dog’s ‘real’ age, you’ll need a calculator|Bethany Brookshire|August 12, 2020|Science News For Students

This mathematical exercise gives an objective and seemingly precise number for the genetic contribution from each breed.
How to Design (or at Least Model) Mixed Dog Breeds|Pradeep Mutalik|July 31, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The attempt to “breed back” the Auroch of Teutonic legend was of a piece with the Nazi obsession with racial purity and eugenics.
‘Nazi Cows’ Tried to Kill British Farmer|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A male and female who do most of the mating dominate packs, and younger subordinates only breed occasionally.
Mongooses, Meerkats, and Ants, Oh My! Why Some Animals Keep Mating All in the Family|Helen Thompson|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They seem to be a slightly different breed from those in New York or London.
Stephen Merchant Talks ‘Hello Ladies’ movie, the Nicole Kidman Cameo, and Legacy of ‘The Office’|Marlow Stern|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps, once in awhile, scarcity will breed rational thinking, too.
Explosion of Cute: Inside the Superfan Mania of Hello Kitty Con 2014|Sarah Bay Williams|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And I am truly preserving something unique because those garments are like a dying breed.
Tatiana Sorokko Is the Queen of Vintage Couture|Anthony Haden-Guest|October 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was a new breed, that parson, a genuwine no-two-alike, come-one-in-a-box kind.
Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher|Eleanor Gates
When Mac started Gregory back he told him that we would be along presently, then sat himself down on a rock and watched the breed.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
But such a thing as happened this morning must breed doubts and suspicions in a woman who has had the experience I have had.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
None breed, however, in Guernsey itself, or in any of the little rocky islands immediately surrounding it.
Birds of Guernsey (1879)|Cecil Smith
It stays on through the winter, but never remains to breed as it does regularly at Lundy Island.
Birds of Guernsey (1879)|Cecil Smith

British Dictionary definitions for breed

breed

/ (briːd) /

verb breeds, breeding or bred

to bear (offspring)

(tr) to bring up; raise

to produce or cause to produce by mating; propagate

to produce and maintain new or improved strains of (domestic animals and plants)

to produce or be produced; generateto breed trouble; violence breeds in densely populated areas

noun

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

a lineage or racea breed of Europeans

a kind, sort, or groupa special breed of hatred

Word Origin for breed

Old English brēdan, of Germanic origin; related to brood

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for breed

breed

[ brēd ]

Verb

To produce or reproduce by giving birth or hatching.

To raise animals or plants, often to produce new or improved types.

Noun

A group of organisms having common ancestors and sharing certain traits that are not shared with other members of the same species. Breeds are usually produced by mating selected parents.

Other Idioms and Phrases with breed

breed

see familiarity breeds contempt.

breed

OTHER WORDS FOR breed

Origin of breed

OTHER WORDS FROM breed

Words nearby breed

Words related to breed

How to use breed in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for breed

Word Origin for breed

Scientific definitions for breed

Other Idioms and Phrases with breed