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

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

From BBC

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

From Los Angeles Times

The latest deadly attack happened near Buenaventura, a city on the Pacific coast which is a hotbed for drug trafficking.

From BBC

The president has made clear he sees top schools as hotbeds of liberal ideology and breeding grounds for anti-American sentiment.

From Los Angeles Times

“There is still mythology around what Goff was able to achieve: This school in the middle of the country becomes this hotbed, sort of overnight, of this revolutionary, bizarre, shocking work,” notes Piscitelli.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• heart 
• hub 
• place