hotbed

[ hot-bed ]

/ ˈhɒtˌbɛd /

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noun

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.

a place or environment favoring rapid growth or spread, especially of something disliked or unwanted: a hotbed of disease.

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), hot·bed·ded, hot·bed·ding.

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

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Origin of hotbed

First recorded in 1620–30; hot + bed

Words nearby hotbed

hot-air balloon, Hotan, hot and bothered, hot and heavy, hot as blazes, hotbed, hot-blooded, hotbox, hot-bulb engine, hot buttered rum, hot-button

Other definitions for hotbed (2 of 2)

hot bed

noun Metalworking.

an area having rails or rolls on which rolled pieces are laid to cool.

Origin of hot bed

First recorded in 1620–30

How to use hotbed in a sentence

Large gatherings can be a hotbed of germs, can pose dangers such as stampedes and heat stroke, and can encourage risky behaviors such as excessive alcohol consumption and unprotected sex.
Large events can be cesspools of germs. Here’s why we ache for them, anyway.|Galadriel Watson|May 13, 2021|Washington Post
The Atlantic League, a hotbed for innovation in baseball, announced plans Wednesday to move the pitcher’s mound back 12 inches from home plate this season.
In the minors, a major change as the Atlantic League plans to move the mound back a foot|Jacob Bogage, Chelsea Janes|April 14, 2021|Washington Post
It has become such a hotbed for political news that Twitter has instituted fact checking on the site.
Finding the best social media platform for your audience and business|Sponsored Content: Exults|April 8, 2021|Search Engine Land
Africa’s southern Kalahari Desert is not typically regarded as a hotbed of Stone Age innovations.
Stone Age culture bloomed inland, not just along Africa’s coasts|Bruce Bower|March 31, 2021|Science News

Groups have been a hotbed for many of Facebook’s biggest problems, including misinformation and hate speech.
Travel spending by Americans plummeted 42 percent in 2020, trade group says||March 17, 2021|Washington Post
Baseball has long been the most popular sport in Cuba and the island has long been a hotbed of baseball talent.
Is Major League Baseball Ready For Cuba’s Players?|Ben Jacobs|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the early 1960s Cambridge University was a hotbed of cultural and social insurrection.
Why Can’t Movies Capture Genius?|Clive Irving|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is also overwhelmingly pro-regime, and since the start of Syrian unrest the region has become a hotbed of pro-Assad activity.
Welcome to Assadville, USA|Christopher Moraff|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Gorge has always been a hotbed of radicalism and arms smuggling, but now it is fast becoming a shahid factory.
The Secret Life of an ISIS Warlord|Will Cathcart, Vazha Tavberidze, Nino Burchuladze|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As their grip loosens, the island, and particularly its capital city, is morphing into a fashionable, gorgeous hotbed of tourism.
Palermo Is Not Just for the Mafia Anymore|Alia Akkam|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The hotbed frames and sashes were put away for future use, as it was too late to need them now.
The Idyl of Twin Fires|Walter Prichard Eaton
When he saw early spring vegetables growing in a hotbed, he said: How does that loose covering keep them warm?
Heroes of To-Day|Mary R. Parkman
In Corsica they do nothing, restlessly; while Sardinia, as all the world knows, is a hotbed of active discontent.
The Isle of Unrest|Henry Seton Merriman
Zurich, as you know, is a hotbed of radicalism, and those young women who went to learn soon imbibed the wildest ideas.
Condemned as a Nihilist|George Alfred Henty
If the loam is a heavy one, place the pot in a warm situation; a spent hotbed is a good place.
The Practical Garden-Book|C. E. Hunn

British Dictionary definitions for hotbed

hotbed

/ (ˈhɒtˌbɛd) /

noun

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

a place offering ideal conditions for the growth of an idea, activity, etc, esp one considered bada hotbed of insurrection

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

hotbed

Origin of hotbed

Words nearby hotbed

Other definitions for hotbed (2 of 2)

Origin of hot bed

Words related to hotbed

How to use hotbed in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hotbed