thoroughbred

[thur-oh-bred, -uh-bred, thuhr-]

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adjective

of pure or unmixed breed, stock, or lineage, as a horse or other animal; bred from the purest and best blood.

(sometimes initial capital letter) of or relating to the Thoroughbred breed of horses.

(of a person) having good breeding or education.

noun

(initial capital letter) one of a breed of horses, to which all racehorses belong, originally developed in England by crossing Arabian stallions with European mares.

a thoroughbred animal.

a well-bred or well-educated person.

Origin of thoroughbred

First recorded in 1695–1705; thorough + bred

Related formsthor·ough·bred·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for thoroughbred

purebred, blood, pedigree, full-blooded, pedigreed

Examples from the Web for thoroughbred

Contemporary Examples of thoroughbred

They acquired Lucky Pulpit for the bargain price of $2,000—about as cheap as a thoroughbred comes these days.
Why California Chrome’s Fairy Tale Didn’t End Happily Ever After
Michael Fensom
June 8, 2014
A thoroughbred horse stampeding across the Churchill Downs turn.
McConnell Campaign’s Huge Duke Whopper
Michael Tomasky
March 25, 2014
The mix of kickboxing, yoga and Pilates would surely whip anyone into shape, let alone a thoroughbred supermodel.
Anderson Cooper Adopts The Chanel Hula-Hoop Bag; Lagerfeld talks Eating Disorders
The Fashion Beast Team
October 12, 2012
Occasionally you will encounter a thoroughbred Weenie, a type of Weenie who is to the weaseling, weaselish manner born.
Monsters vs. Weenies
Lee Siegel
December 29, 2009

Historical Examples of thoroughbred

Thoroughbred is the word for her, style and action, as the horse people say, perfect.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Their horse would go to the post as fit as any thoroughbred had ever stripped.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
"Thoroughbred for a horse, and purebred for a cow," Rose repeated willingly.
Dust
Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
So the Manxman, such as he is, taken all the centuries through, is thoroughbred.
The Little Manx Nation - 1891
Hall Caine
Murieta was washing his thoroughbred mare in the bed of the ravine.
When the West Was Young
Frederick R. Bechdolt

British Dictionary definitions for thoroughbred

thoroughbred

adjective

purebred

noun

a pedigree animal; purebred

a person regarded as being of good breeding

Thoroughbred

noun

a British breed of horse the ancestry of which can be traced to English mares and Arab sires; most often used as a racehorse

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

Word Origin and History for thoroughbred

adj.

1701, of persons, "thoroughly accomplished," from thorough + past tense of breed. In the horse sense of "of pure breed or stock" it dates from 1796; the noun is first recorded 1842.