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breed Definition

breed (brēd)

transitive verb bred, breed′·ing

  1. to bring forth (offspring) from the womb or hatch (young) from the egg
  2. to be the source of; produce ignorance breeds prejudice
    1. to cause to reproduce; raise, esp. by controlled mating to breed dogs
    2. to produce (plants) by selective pollination
    3. to mate with
    4. to develop (a stock or certain characteristics in it) by such mating or pollination
  4. to bring up, train, or educate he was bred to be a gentleman
  5. to produce (fissile material) in a breeder reactor

Etymology: ME breden < OE bredan < brod, fetus, hatching: see brood

intransitive verb

  1. to be produced; originate crime breeds in slums
  2. to bring forth offspring; reproduce

noun

  1. a group, or stock, of animals or plants descended from common ancestors and having similar characteristics, esp. such a group cultivated by humans
  2. a kind; sort; type men of the same breed

breed Synonyms

breed

n.

strain, variety, kind; see class 1, race 1.

breed Synonyms

breed

v.

  1. To produce young

    reproduce, give birth, procreate, beget; see produce 1, propagate 1, reproduce 3.

  2. To cause

    give rise to, engender, occasion, produce; see begin 1, cause 2, produce 1.

  3. To cause animals or plants to reproduce

    raise, grow, cultivate, develop, propagate, rear, keep, hybridize, crossbreed, clone.

breed Usage Examples

Object

  • wader: Cattle graze the marshes to maintain the tussocky grass favored by breeding waders.
  • plumage: Adult Pomarine in breeding plumage has a more extensive dark cap than Arctic Skua, reaching down below the eye in most cases.
  • colony: Around 38,000 gray seals are born on land at breeding colonies in the UK each November.
  • contempt: Next time you are in the fish shop give the guppies another look familiarity does not have to breed contempt.
  • pair: The productivity at 2.5 young per breeding pair is the highest yet recorded.
  • seabird: The coastal cliffs of the peninsula's southern and western shores attract breeding seabirds.

Adjective modifier

  • rare: Ah singing drummers, they're a rare breed.
  • hardy: Ailments The Norwich Terrier is a healthy and quite hardy breed of dog.
  • native: Calum Macinnes, Primary 6. Eriskay Pony The native breed of pony has been rescued from near-extinction in the past 30 years.

Adjective complement

unchecked: That is what happens when the bacteria are allowed to breed unchecked.

Noun used with modifier

  • terrier: He still retains a very strong hunting instinct, something which has sadly been bred out of other terrier breeds.
  • familiarity: I think the problem locally is that everybody know that and familiarity breeds contempt.
  • pedigree: It is common for dogs to cost more to ensure than cats, with extra charges for pedigree breeds or big animals.
  • beef: All three had the same ambition - to improve their native cattle and challenge the English beef breeds.
  • dog: There are a total of nearly 30 dog breeds on the A, B, C list.

Preposition: in

captivity: Do animals that have been bred in captivity for many generations have more transparent skin than their wild relatives?

Preposition: of

  • sheep: AIMS Select appropriate breeds of sheep for different purposes.
  • cattle: Devon and South Devon are breeds of cattle that originated in the county.
  • dog: Also you can upload a picture of yourself or indeed of a favorite breed of dog to put in your profile.

Modifies a noun

contempt: I think the problem locally is that everybody know that and familiarity breeds contempt.