hatchery

American  

[hach-uh-ree] / ˈhætʃ ə ri /

noun

hatcheries plural

1. a place for hatching eggs of hens, fish, etc., especially a large, commercial or government site where the young are hatched, cared for, and sold or distributed.

---

hatchery British  

/ ˈhætʃərɪ /

noun

1. a place where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions

---

Other Word Forms

• subhatchery
  noun

Etymology

Origin of hatchery

First recorded in 1875–80; hatch ¹ + -ery

Explanation

A hatchery is a place where fish or bird eggs are hatched. Do you want to raise chickens so you can have fresh eggs every day? You'll probably buy your birds as babies from a hatchery. Small poultry hatcheries produce chicks that are usually sold to backyard farmers. Larger poultry hatcheries are more like factories, supplying chickens for meat or eggs to enormous corporations. Fish hatcheries are an important part of fish farming, providing a safe place for eggs to hatch and fish to grow large enough to be used for food.

Example Sentences

But scientists and hatchery experts are now questioning whether these beautiful electric blue crustaceans are truly as rare as once was believed.

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025

“It doesn’t matter how many fish you have, or if you’re growing them in a hatchery, or what you’re doing,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2025

Now the delta smelt is functionally extinct in the wild, the species preserved only through a state and federal hatchery program, the success of which is uncertain.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2025

Next, a coalition of those tribes, state agencies and nonprofits unleashed a limited supply of hatchery fish to boost runs in places like the Big Quilcene River.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 6, 2024

On arrival they found the hatchery head, Glen Wesley Gore, standing beside the lunker pool with a hurt and extremely puzzled expression on his face.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols