Showing results for "breeding"

• present participle of breed.

breeding

American  

[bree-ding] / ˈbri dɪŋ /

noun

breedings plural

1. the producing of offspring.

2. the improvement or development of breeds of livestock, as by selective mating and hybridization.

3. Horticulture. the production of new forms by selection, crossing, and hybridizing.

4. training; nurture.

   He is a man of good breeding.

5. the result of upbringing or training as shown in behavior and manners; manners, especially good manners.

   You can tell when a person has breeding.

6. Energy. the production in a nuclear reactor of more fissile material than is consumed.

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breeding British  

/ ˈbriːdɪŋ /

noun

1. the process of bearing offspring; reproduction

2. the process of producing plants or animals by sexual reproduction

3. the result of good training, esp the knowledge of correct social behaviour; refinement

   a man of breeding

4. a person's line of descent

   his breeding was suspect

5. physics a process occurring in a nuclear reactor as a result of which more fissionable material is produced than is used up

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonbreeding
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• breedings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of breeding

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at breed, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

breeding breedings

During the second inspection, inspectors found decaying organic waste, wastewater, food residue, unsanitary conditions that allowed the breeding of flies, as well as live and dead flies along the northern perimeter of the warehouse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Cities across the Western world are struggling to address housing and affordability crises, squeezing residents and developers alike and breeding discontent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

He and his team are already preparing breeding programmes for the critically endangered African white-backed vultures and endangered African grey crowned cranes.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

The lemon frost morph originated from a spontaneous genetic mutation that appeared during selective breeding in a large colony of leopard geckos.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try breeding her in a few months. Maybe she’ll give me a dairy cow. We sure haven’t been lucky lately. Both Butter and Sophie gave us bulls.”

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Louise Leatherdale, owner and co-founder of Leatherdale Farms in Long Lake, Minn., which is considered among the best breeders of dressage horses, said she might charge as little as $2,000 for two breedings.

From New York Times ● May 4, 2018

From there, he landed a job selling stallion breedings for the famed Walmac Farm.

From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2015

In his new home, Yankee Gentleman quickly jumped from about 30 breedings to 94, at $5,000 per time.

From Time ● Apr. 28, 2010

These wholesome activities prevented any morbid breedings or introspections, and furnished the best possible tonic for the strengthening of her moral purposes.

From Neville Trueman, the Pioneer Preacher : a tale of the war of 1812 by Withrow, W. H. (William Henry)

Survival of the sperm with 4 percent glycerol was so poor that only a few breedings were made with these samples.

From Preservation of Bull Semen at Sub-Zero Temperatures by Friedman, M. E.

Related Words

• development
• rearing
• training