hatchery
Americannoun
-
hatcheries
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hatchery
Explanation
A hatchery is a place where fish or bird eggs are hatched. Do you want to raise chickens so you can have fresh eggs every day? You'll probably buy your birds as babies from a hatchery. Small poultry hatcheries produce chicks that are usually sold to backyard farmers. Larger poultry hatcheries are more like factories, supplying chickens for meat or eggs to enormous corporations. Fish hatcheries are an important part of fish farming, providing a safe place for eggs to hatch and fish to grow large enough to be used for food.
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:
The first mobile hatchery is being trialled in Millport, with plans to trial more in the future.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
The research team will now trial the feasibility of a mobile oyster hatchery, in the hope it could both supply oyster larvae to coastal communities and help rebuild oyster beds in various areas.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District even has its own fish hatchery, where it rears the aptly named Western mosquitofish.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
It continued when they were hauled about 50 miles north to a hatchery in Fillmore, where they hung out until 266 of them made it to Arroyo Hondo the following month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025
In still another comparative study, DDT was found in the tissues of fish from a hatchery where the water supply originated in a deep well.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
As Mr. Ogilvy writes, “now the abalone live in hatcheries, the sardines in tanks, the tuna in the fish holds of charter boats and gourmet custom cans.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
As detailed by National Geographic, it is a common practice in salmon hatcheries to harvest salmon sperm, which requires a scientist to squeeze a salmon in the right spot — also known as abdominal massaging.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2024
Newsom’s administration in January announced a salmon strategy plan outlining a series of expanded efforts, including restoring habitats, modernizing hatcheries and removing barriers that block fish migration.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2024
Many are now raised in government-run hatcheries before being released back into their native waters to later return to those same hatcheries.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2024
He ended up getting a job at one of the few hatcheries in the state that wasn’t owned by Mr. Lyndon.
From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
