Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense breeds, present participle breeding, past tense, past participle bred
1. countable noun
A breed of a pet animal or farm animal is a particular type of it. For example, terriers are a breed of dog.
...rare breeds of cattle. [+ of]
Certain breeds are more dangerous than others.
Synonyms: variety, family, line, sort More Synonyms of breed
2. verb
If you breed animals or plants, you keep them for the purpose of producing more animals or plants with particular qualities, in a controlled way.
He lived alone, breeding horses and dogs. [VERB noun]
He used to breed dogs for the police. [VERB noun preposition]
These dogs are bred to fight. [beVERB-ed to-infinitive]
Synonyms: rear, tend, keep, raise More Synonyms of breed
breedinguncountable noun
There is potential for selective breeding for better yields. [+ for]
Synonyms: upbringing, training, raising, development More Synonyms of breed
Synonyms: rearing, raising, nurturing More Synonyms of breed
3.
See also cross-breed
4. verb
When animals breed, they have babies.
Frogs will usually breed in any convenient pond. [VERB]
The area now attracts over 60 species of breeding birds. [VERB-ing]
Synonyms: reproduce, multiply, propagate, procreate [formal] More Synonyms of breed
breedinguncountable noun [oft NOUN noun]
During the breeding season the birds come ashore.
Synonyms: upbringing, training, raising, development More Synonyms of breed
Synonyms: reproduction, mating, reproducing, multiplying More Synonyms of breed
5. verb
If you say that something breeds bad feeling or bad behaviour, you mean that it causes bad feeling or bad behaviour to develop.
If they are unemployed it's bound to breed resentment. [VERB noun]
Violence breeds violence. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: produce, cause, create, occasion [formal] More Synonyms of breed
6. countable noun [usually singular]
You can refer to someone or something as one of a particular breedof person or thing when you want to talk about what they are like.
Sue is one of the new breed of British women squash players who are making a realimpact. [+ of]
The new breed of walking holidays puts the emphasis on enjoyment, not endurance. [+ of]
Synonyms: kind, sort, type, variety More Synonyms of breed
7. See also breeding, ill-bred, pure-bred, well-bred
8.
See to be born and bred
9. familiarity breeds contempt
More Synonyms of breed
breed in British English
(briːd)
verbWord forms: breeds, breeding or bred
1.
to bear (offspring)
2. (transitive)
to bring up; raise
3.
to produce or cause to produce by mating; propagate
4.
to produce and maintain new or improved strains of (domestic animals and plants)
5.
to produce or be produced; generate
to breed trouble
violence breeds in densely populated areas
noun
6.
a group of organisms within a species, esp a group of domestic animals, originated and maintained by humans and having a clearly defined set of characteristics
7.
a lineage or race
a breed of Europeans
8.
a kind, sort, or group
a special breed of hatred
Word origin
Old English brēdan, of Germanic origin; related to brood
breed in American English
(brid)
verb transitiveWord forms: bred or ˈbreeding
1.
to bring forth (offspring) from the womb or hatch (young) from the egg
2.
to be the source of; produce
ignorance breeds prejudice
3.
a.
to cause to reproduce; raise, esp. by controlled mating
to breed dogs
b.
to produce (plants) by selective pollination
c.
to mate with
d.
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
verb intransitive
6.
to be produced; originate
crime breeds in slums
7.
to bring forth offspring; reproduce
noun
8.
a group, or stock, of animals or plants descended from common ancestors and having similar characteristics, esp. such a group cultivated by humans
9.
a kind; sort; type
men of the same breed
Word origin
ME breden < OE bredan < brod, fetus, hatching: see brood
Examples of 'breed' in a sentence
breed
Or how about a captive breeding programme?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She discovered her love for animals while breeding dachshunds and selling them worldwide.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Then check out the new breed of gentle whitening strips that can be used at home.
The Sun (2016)
Modern investment banking has produced a new breed of less deserving masters of the universe.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Between the landlords and tenants a new breed of letting agent has sprung up.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
In this way bad habits breed.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Here is hoping the new breed of the upper class will do more exciting things with their money than sit on it.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The area is a breeding ground for Atlantic salmon.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The agency aims to bring in a new breed of agent with the skills to cope with the growing role of technology in espionage.
Computing (2010)
Something about it just breeds magic and romance.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
And now his chief leisure focus is breeding race horses.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The islands are also a rare breeding ground for grey seals.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
They have also built an electric fence around the most popular breeding area.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Others more mildly murmur that it destroys male confidence and breeds rebellious violence in young men.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They require no special care compared with any other domestic breed.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is small wonder that pandas are so bad at breeding.
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
These were animals that were bred with fine yet muscular lines.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
No particular breed is favoured for its taste.
The Sun (2013)
Researchers in agriculture and horticulture need the full genetic stock to breed new varieties.
Michael Boulter EXTINCTION: Evolution and the End of Man (2002)
And the pedigree cattle breeds of our shires shape their menus.
The Sun (2014)
Jump jockeys are a breed apart as sportsmen.
The Sun (2010)
But over the that has been glossed over by the that class is about breeding.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Or a rare breed of aliens in a hostile environment?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The rain in their breeding areas will have sped them on.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Experiments have shown that it is mainly the increasing length of daylight that sets them singing and brings them into breeding condition.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Some mice were normal, and some had been bred not to produce serotonin.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There are also a few breeding pairs of common gull and Mediterranean gull.
Perring, Franklyn A Guide to Britain's Conservation Heritage (1991)
We've got to stop our own human race breeding so fast.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Often there's a harrowing story of how violence has been bred into them through bad parenting.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
breed
British English: breed /briːd/ NOUN
A breed of animal is a particular type of it.
...rare breeds of cattle.
American English: breed
Arabic: نَسْل
Brazilian Portuguese: raça animal
Chinese: 品种
Croatian: pasmina
Czech: plemeno
Danish: race
Dutch: ras geslacht
European Spanish: raza Zoología
Finnish: rotu eläimen
French: race animaux
German: Rasse
Greek: ράτσα
Italian: razza
Japanese: 品種
Korean: 품종
Norwegian: rase
Polish: rasa chów
European Portuguese: raça animal
Romanian: rasă
Russian: порода
Latin American Spanish: raza especie
Swedish: ras sort
Thai: พันธุ์
Turkish: cins hayvan
Ukrainian: порода
Vietnamese: giống loài
British English: breed /briːd/ VERB
If you breed animals or plants, you keep them for the purpose of producing more animals or plants.
He used to breed dogs for the police.
American English: breed
Arabic: يَتَناسَل
Brazilian Portuguese: procriar
Chinese: 繁殖
Croatian: uzgajati
Czech: chovat zvířata
Danish: avle
Dutch: kweken
European Spanish: criar
Finnish: jalostaa cattle etc.
French: élever
German: züchten
Greek: αναπαράγω
Italian: allevare
Japanese: 品種改良する
Korean: 사육하다
Norwegian: avle
Polish: wyhodować
European Portuguese: procriar
Romanian: a înmulți
Russian: выводить новые породы животных
Latin American Spanish: criar
Swedish: föda upp
Thai: เลี้ยง
Turkish: yetiştirmek hayvan
Ukrainian: розводити
Vietnamese: nhân giống
All related terms of 'breed'
cross-breed
If one species of animal or plant cross-breeds with another, they reproduce , and new or different animals or plants are produced. You can also say that someone cross-breeds something such as an animal or plant.
half-breed
a person whose parents are of different races , esp the offspring of a White person and a Native American
bulldog breed
→ the bulldog breed
Breed's Hill
a hill in E Massachusetts , adjoining Bunker Hill: the true site of the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)
best of breed
The best of breed is the animal that wins first prize in its section at a dog show.
the bulldog breed
people who fought in either of the World Wars
line breeding
selective inbreeding that produces individuals possessing one or more of the favourable characteristics of their common ancestor
Chinese translation of 'breed'
breed
(briːd)
Word forms:ptppbred (brɛd)
vt
[animals]繁殖 (fánzhí)
[plants]培植 (péizhí)
(fig, = give rise to)[situation, quality, hate, suspicion]引起 (yǐnqǐ)
vi
(Zool) 繁殖 (fánzhí)
n(c)
(Zool) 品种(種) (pǐnzhǒng) (个(個), gè)
(= type, class) 类(類)型 (lèixíng)
1 (noun)
Definition
a group of animals, esp. domestic animals, within a species, that have certain clearly defined characteristics
rare breeds of cattle
Synonyms
variety
family
foods in the cabbage family, such as Brussels sprouts
line
Best-selling lines included a teeth-cleaning kit for dogs.
sort
kind
Lewis and his kind are the best sort of people.
race
class
a new class of personal computer
stock
We took a decision to withdraw a quantity of stock from sale.
type
species
There are several thousand species of trees here.
strain
a particularly beautiful strain of Swiss pansies
pedigree
2 (noun)
Definition
a kind, sort, or group
the new breed of walking holidays
Synonyms
kind
They developed a new kind of film-making.
sort
What sort of person is he?
type
There are various types of the disease.
variety
She grows 12 varieties of old-fashioned roses.
order
the order of insects Coleoptera, better known as beetles
brand
the British brand of socialism
stamp
Monty is a man of a very different stamp.
genre
his love of films and novels in the horror genre
calibre
3 (noun)
Definition
a lineage or race
Synonyms
lineage
They can trace their lineage back to the 18th century.
family
Her family came to Los Angeles at the turn of the century.
line
We were part of a long line of artists.
race
We welcome students of all races, faiths and nationalities.
class
stock
We are both from working-class stock.
pedigree
a countess of impeccable pedigree
extraction
a young Brazilian of German extraction
ilk
politicians and their ilk
1 (verb)
Definition
to produce new or improved strains of (domestic animals and plants)
He lived alone, breeding horses and dogs.
Synonyms
rear
She spends a lot of time rearing animals.
tend
He tended the cat in her illness.
keep
This eccentric writer kept a lobster as a pet.
raise
She raised chickens and pigs.
maintain
the basic costs of maintaining a child
farm
look after
care for
bring up
nurture
Parents want to know the best way to nurture and raise their children to adulthood.
nourish
2 (verb)
Definition
to bear (offspring)
Frogs will usually breed in any convenient pond.
Synonyms
reproduce
The animals were unable to reproduce when the vitamin was missing from their diet.
multiply
These creatures can multiply quickly.
propagate
Tomatoes rot in order to transmit their seed and propagate the species.
procreate (formal)
Most people feel a biological need to procreate.
produce offspring
bear young
bring forth young
generate offspring
beget offspring
develop
I developed a taste for the finer things in life.
3 (verb)
Definition
to produce or be produced
If they are overlooked, it's bound to breed resentment.
Synonyms
produce
Cooking with spices produces a wonderful smell.
cause
I don't want to cause any trouble.
create
He's creating a whole new language of painting.
occasion (formal)
The incident occasioned a full-scale parliamentary row.
generate
The minister said the reforms would generate new jobs.
bring about
arouse
originate
No-one knows who originated this story.
give rise to
stir up
hatch
I transferred the eggs to a hen canary to hatch and rear.
originate
No-one knows who originated this story.
engender
Insults engender hatred against those who indulge in them.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of brand
Definition
a particular kind or variety
the British brand of socialism
Synonyms
type,
make,
sort,
kind,
class,
quality,
variety,
species,
strain,
grade,
cast
in the sense of cause
Definition
to be the cause of
I don't want to cause any trouble.
Synonyms
produce,
begin,
create,
effect,
lead to,
occasion (formal),
result in,
generate,
provoke,
compel,
motivate,
induce,
bring about,
give rise to,
precipitate,
incite,
engender
in the sense of class
Definition
one of the groups into which a phylum is divided, containing one or more orders