breeding ground
Americannoun
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a place where animals breed or to which they return to breed.
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an environment suitable for or fostering the development of an idea, thing, etc..
a breeding ground for violence.
Etymology
Origin of breeding ground
First recorded in 1930–35
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.
She laid blame on social media, saying the internet was a "breeding ground" that made it possible for major powers to persuade people to "engage in espionage and spread propaganda" in exchange for payment.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
EDF then suggested a plan to flood 1,500 acres of nearby coast to create a salt marsh breeding ground to offset any fish death.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
The area beside Bloody Bridge Valley, where firefighters tackled a two mile long fire, is a "very important" breeding ground for skylarks.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2025
Jessica Gephart, a fisheries-science professor at the University of Washington, explained that the Saya de Malha Bank is a breeding ground for humpback and blue whales that can be injured or killed by ship collisions.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025
Another bonanza was the development of world trade routes, which by Roman times effectively joined the populations of Europe, Asia, and North Africa into one giant breeding ground for microbes.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
