breeder

[bree-der]

See more synonyms for breeder on Thesaurus.com

noun

an animal, plant, or person that produces offspring or reproduces.
a person who raises animals or plants primarily for breeding purposes.
Also called breeder reactor. Energy. a nuclear reactor in which more fissile material is produced than is consumed.

Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used by gays to refer to a heterosexual.
Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used especially by child-free people to refer to a biological parent.

Origin of breeder

First recorded in 1525–35; breed + -er¹

Related formsnon·breed·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for breeder

adviser, coach, professor, tutor, mentor, handler, breeder, producer, farmer, herdsman, herder, rancher, peasant, laborer, grower, lecturer, guide, demonstrator, agriculturist, shepherd

Examples from the Web for breeder

Contemporary Examples of breeder

It would be nice to feel—as he put it the other day—that he had “a breeder” among his grandchildren.
When Did "Married Without Children" Become Gauche?
Rachel Shukert
November 15, 2008

Historical Examples of breeder

So you wish me to set up as a breeder of young horses, do you, Socrates?
The Economist
Xenophon
This becomes a source of great annoyance and loss to the breeder.
Cattle and Cattle-breeders
William M'Combie
Slinking is one of the greatest pests to which a breeder is subjected.
Cattle and Cattle-breeders
William M'Combie
Great care, therefore, must be taken by the breeder when his calves are weaned.
Cattle and Cattle-breeders
William M'Combie
I have also been assured by a breeder that this is the case.
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I.
Charles Darwin

British Dictionary definitions for breeder

breeder

noun

a person who breeds plants or animals
something that reproduces, esp to excessrabbits are persistent breeders
an animal kept for breeding purposes
a source or causea breeder of discontent
short for breeder reactor

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

Word Origin and History for breeder

1570s, "one who produces or originates," agent noun from breed (v.). Meaning "one who breeds cattle" or some other animal is recorded from 1530s. Of nuclear reactors, from 1948. As a scornful homosexual term for "heterosexual person," attested from 1986.