breed
verb (used with object)
to produce (offspring); procreate; engender.
was breeding
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past progressiveof breed.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Wildlife officials are here after receiving a tip-off that a man was holding lions and cubs without a licence, and was breeding them for sale illegally.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2025
According to the Netflix documentary, he was living in recent years in France, where he was breeding dogs.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 3, 2022
Manville said the Seabeck man was breeding them to sell locally.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 1, 2020
His priority was breeding new crops to tackle the environmental challenges of the future.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 10, 2019
Pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon, whom Mr. Jones was breeding up for sale.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
