inbreed
Americanverb (used with object)
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to breed (individuals of a closely related group) repeatedly.
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to breed within; engender.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to breed from unions between closely related individuals, esp over several generations
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(tr) to develop within; engender
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inbreed
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Now researchers have figured out one reason the critters are so hardy: they can inbreed, quite robustly, for generations.
From Time ● Dec. 7, 2011
It turns out that unlike most creatures, bedbugs are able to inbreed with close relatives and still produce generally healthy offspring.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2011
Bed bugs inbreed without ill effects, the researchers said, so even a single mated bed bug can lead to a colony of the blood-sucking insects.
From BusinessWeek ● Dec. 6, 2011
For such a group, to survive is to inbreed, and the Amish have more than survived; they now number 44,000.
From Time Magazine Archive
The firm’s potent culture, Mr. Blankfein once said, blended confidence and excellence with “an inbred insecurity that drives people.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
She added: "Winter mortality of lambs removes inbred individuals, removes bad genes, so the flock has this purging thing the whole time which I don't think we would be able to organise."
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2025
Inside the painting is a rendering of Kenny the Tiger, the famous inbred white Bengal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2025
Not only that, but the pupfish are believed to be one of the most inbred of all species, a lack of genetic variation that makes it difficult for the creatures to procreate and thrive.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2024
After decades of neglect, I find myself thinking about departed great- aunts and -uncles, long-lost grandfathers, unknown fifth cousins, or, in the case of an inbred family like mine, all those things in one.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Even when recovery begins with a small group of surviving individuals, continued population growth can help offset the harmful effects of inbreeding and partially restore lost variation.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2026
In the meantime, populations are at risk of being wiped out by inbreeding, fierce wildfires or a number of other factors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
In many cases, one of their offspring takes over the reproductive role, which results in widespread inbreeding within colonies.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 31, 2026
In Southern California, lions have shown deformities from inbreeding, including kinked tails and malformed sperm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
In 2005, members of the Native American Havasupai Tribe sued Arizona State University after scientists took tissue samples the tribe donated for diabetes research and used them without consent to study schizophrenia and inbreeding.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
