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.
A group that helped more than 1,000 toads reach their breeding ground safely say they fear the creatures have died after a reservoir was drained.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
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
Michael Stocker, executive director of the acoustics group Ocean Conservation Research, has been leading whale-viewing trips to the gray whales’ breeding ground at San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California since 2006.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 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 overpopulation created a breeding ground for illness.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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.
