hotbed

[hot-bed]

noun

1. a bottomless, boxlike, usually glass-covered structure and the bed of earth it covers, heated typically by fermenting manure or electrical cables, for growing plants out of season.

2. a place or environment favoring rapid growth or spread, especially of something disliked or unwanted.

   a hotbed of disease.

3. Slang.,  a bed shared by two or more persons in shifts, each sleeping in it for or at a designated time and then vacating it for the next occupant.

verb (used without object)

hotbedded, hotbedding 

1. Slang.,  to share a bed in shifts, so that it is always occupied.

hotbed

/ ˈhɒtˌbɛd /

noun

1. a glass-covered bed of soil, usually heated by fermenting material, used for propagating plants, forcing early vegetables, etc

2. a place offering ideal conditions for the growth of an idea, activity, etc, esp one considered bad

   a hotbed of insurrection

Word History and Origins

Origin of hotbed¹

First recorded in 1620–30; hot + bed

Example Sentences

Long known as the world’s factory, China is fast becoming a hotbed of innovation.

Read more on Barron's

It doesn’t meet with institutional investors, avoids industry conferences, and it’s based outside Cleveland, not exactly a hotbed of financial activity.

Read more on Barron's

By the late 19th century, Southwestern Ontario had become a hotbed for baseball talent.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There was a shift to rugby's traditional hotbeds for the knockout stages, delivering the biggest crowds for the biggest matches.

Read more on BBC

Those vast reaches beyond the state’s blue coastal enclaves have long been a hotbed of resentment toward California’s ruling Democratic establishment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• heart 
• hub 
• place