inbreeding

American  

[in-bree-ding] / ˈɪnˌbri dɪŋ /

noun

Biology.

1. the mating of closely related individuals, as cousins, sire-daughter, brother-sister, or self-fertilized plants, which tends to increase the number of individuals that are homozygous for a trait and therefore increases the appearance of recessive traits.

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inbreeding Scientific  

/ ĭn′brē′dĭng /

1. The breeding or mating of related individuals within an isolated or closed group of organisms or people. Inbreeding can result in inbreeding depression. However, in agriculture and animal husbandry, the continued breeding of closely related individuals can help to preserve desirable traits in a stock.

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Etymology

Origin of inbreeding

First recorded in 1835–45; inbreed + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inbreeding

"A leading concern for small populations is that they tend to lose genetic diversity faster than large populations and the risks of inbreeding are higher," explained O'Corry-Crowe.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026

"Our nature is very fragmented, due to railways and streets and cities. And this means we created a lot of barriers for the lynx, which leads to inbreeding," Dina says.

From BBC ● May 1, 2025

In many species, inbreeding can reduce health and fitness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025

Panthers stalking the Santa Monica Mountains are imperiled by inbreeding because of freeways that essentially lock them in — and visitors with needed genetic diversity out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2024

But selective inbreeding via marriage, Wells argued, might paradoxically produce weaker and duller generations.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee