breed

[breed]

verb (used with object)

bred, breeding 

1. to produce (offspring); procreate; engender.

   Synonyms: generate, bear, beget

2. to produce by mating; propagate sexually; reproduce.

   Ten mice were bred in the laboratory.

   Synonyms: generate, bear, beget

3. Horticulture.

   1. to cause to reproduce by controlled pollination.

   2. to improve by controlled pollination and selection.

4. to raise (cattle, sheep, etc.).

   He breeds longhorns on the ranch.

5. to cause or be the source of; engender; give rise to.

   Dirt breeds disease. Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes.

   Synonyms: develop, induce, produce, foster, occasion, promote

6. to develop by training or education; bring up; rear.

   He was born and bred a gentleman.

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

8. to impregnate; mate.

   Breed a strong mare with a fast stallion and hope for a Derby winner.

verb (used without object)

bred, breeding 

1. to produce offspring.

   Many animals breed in the spring.

2. to be engendered or produced; grow; develop.

   Bacteria will not breed in alcohol.

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

4. to be pregnant.

noun

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

2. lineage; stock; strain.

   She comes from a fine breed of people.

   Synonyms: line, pedigree, family

3. sort; kind; group.

   Scholars are a quiet breed.

4. Disparaging and Offensive.,  half-breed.

breed

/ briːd /

verb

1. to bear (offspring)

2. (tr) to bring up; raise

3. to produce or cause to produce by mating; propagate

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

5. to produce or be produced; generate

   to breed trouble

   violence breeds in densely populated areas

noun

1. 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

2. a lineage or race

   a breed of Europeans

3. a kind, sort, or group

   a special breed of hatred

breed

1. To produce or reproduce by giving birth or hatching.

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

1. 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 Word Forms

• breedable adjective
• overbreed verb (used with object)
• rebreed verb
• subbreed noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of breed¹

before 1000; Middle English breden, Old English brēdan to nourish (cognate with Old High German bruotan, German brüten ); noun use from 16th century

Word History and Origins

Origin of breed¹

Old English brēdan , of Germanic origin; related to _brood

Idioms and Phrases

see familiarity breeds contempt.

Example Sentences

"If every lion that was born survived to become an adult and breed, you'd run out of zebra and wildebeest pretty quick."

Read more on BBC

That breeds an inner feeling of 'over my dead body, this will not happen again, we're going to make sure we win this'.

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A new breed of Democrats is willing to seek and wield power in unprecedented ways, too.

Read more on Barron's

If you have five beds, there will be five of them lying there, because it is a comfort room for people who are not in the team and it breeds the wrong culture'.

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He was born and bred in Liverpool, I remember him from a young age in the academy and then coming to the first team and winning the Champions League.

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Related Words

• beget 
• create 
• engender 
• give birth to 
• hatch 
• induce 
• multiply 
• produce 
• propagate 
• reproduce