breed
/briːd
/verb (past and past participle bred /brɛd/) [no object]
1(Of animals) mate and then produce offspring: toads are said to return to the pond of their birth to breed...
- There are, he says, at least 200 different species of bacteria breeding feverishly behind your lips.
- Some Australian bird species or parrot species will breed quite happily here in captivity.
- And they also believe that the creatures are breeding in our countryside.
Synonyms
reproduce, produce offspring, procreate, bear young, multiply, propagate;
mate
literary beget offspring
1.1 [with object] Cause (an animal) to produce offspring, especially in a controlled and organized way: bitches may not be bred from more than once a year...
- Cows were bred to Brangus bulls during the 60-d breeding season, with 1 bull per 18 cows.
- Hereford sires were bred to Angus and MARC III cows.
- Mules, animals that result from breeding a male donkey with a female horse, are usually sterile.
1.2 [with object] Develop (a variety of animal or plant) for a particular purpose or quality: these horses are bred for this sport...
- Most leeks can be harvested for use as baby leeks, but some varieties are bred for culinary appeal as baby leeks.
- Hybrid seeds, on the other hand, are bred for qualities such as longevity or disease resistance.
- Many seed catalogs feature varieties that are bred for small size plots - and organic too!
Synonyms
rear, raise, nurture
1.3 [with object] Rear and train (someone) to behave in a particular way: Theodora had been beautifully bred...
- I brought you up and bred you and this is how you repay me?
- If we were to breed you for hosts, how could we keep you knowledgeable, but subservient?
- Seems like the better bred you are, the more of a jerk you turn out to be.
Synonyms
bring up, rear, raise, nurture;
educate, teach, train
1.4 [with object] Produce or lead to (something) over a period of time: success had bred a certain arrogance...
- Naturally, I concluded that athletic success bred confidence that carries through into professional life.
- Or could it be that beauty breeds fame and success?
- Usually, success breeds envy and resentment, but we've stayed good friends.
Synonyms
cause, bring about, give rise to, lead to, create, produce, generate, spawn, foster, occasion, make for, result in;
arouse, stir up
literary beget
1.5 [with object] Physics Create (fissile material) by nuclear reaction.The reactor was designed for breeding plutonium and can readily be converted to do so....
- The breeding reactor is included in the cooling circuit with a lower coolant temperature.
- Only small fractions of these fertile elements are needed for clandestine breeding of fissionable fuels.
noun
1A stock of animals or plants within a species having a distinctive appearance and typically having been developed by deliberate selection: the big continental breeds are eagerly being imported by British farmers...
- This text would be very applicable for an introductory course in animal breeds, selection, evaluation and judging.
- I would point out that we have special breeds of animals that we bred for hundreds of years.
- In the section for cattle, about 600 stud animals of 15 different breeds and 16 slaughter steers have been entered.
Synonyms
variety, stock, strain, line, family;
type, kind, sort, class
1.1A sort or kind of person or thing: a new breed of entrepreneurs was brought into being...
- There were breeds of all sorts talking and singing, having a good time.
- It was said that entrepreneurs were a special breed, more driven to succeed than the rest of us.
- We must find a way to accommodate both breeds of military professional.
Synonyms
type, kind, sort, variety, class, genre, genus, order, calibre, brand, generation, vintage
North American informal stripe
Phrases
a breed apart
a dying breed
what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh (or blood)
Origin
Old English brēdan 'produce (offspring), bear (a child)', of Germanic origin; related to German brüten, also to brood.