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

"The snakes' heightened sense of smell may allow them to recognize one another as something more like siblings -- especially given the high levels of inbreeding -- than as prey," Gray says.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 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

"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

He was a businessman, pronounced ztfynessman in his case, a hardworking, earthbound professional, more concerned with inbreeding among the lions than any over­arching moral or existential scheme.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel