Breed

Pronunciation

• IPA: /briːd/
• Rhymes: -iːd

Origin

From Old English bredan, related to English brood, cognate with German brüten.

Alternative forms

• breede archaic

Full definition of breed

Verb

1. To produce offspring sexually; to bear young.
• 2013, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, Wild Plants to the Rescue, Plant breeding is always a numbers game....The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
2. (transitive) To give birth to; to be the native place of.a pond breeds fish; a northern country breeds stout men
• ShakespeareYet every mother breeds not sons alike.
3. Of animals, to mate.
4. To keep animals and have them reproduce in a way that improves the next generation’s qualities.
5. To arrange the mating of specific animals.
   She wanted to breed her cow to the neighbor's registered bull.
6. To propagate or grow plants trying to give them certain qualities.
   He tries to breed blue roses.
7. To take care of in infancy and through childhood; to bring up.
• Drydento bring thee forth with pain, with care to breed
• Everettborn and bred on the verge of the wilderness
8. To yield or result in.
   disaster breeds famine;  familiarity breeds contempt
• MiltonLest the place
  And my quaint habits breed astonishment.
9. (obsolete, intransitive) To be formed in the parent or dam; to be generated, or to grow, like young before birth.
10. To educate; to instruct; to form by education; to train; sometimes followed by up.
• Bishop BurnetNo care was taken to breed him a Protestant.
• John LockeHis farm may not remove his children too far from him, or the trade he breeds them up in.
11. To produce or obtain by any natural process.
• John LockeChildren would breed their teeth with less danger.
12. (intransitive) To have birth; to be produced or multiplied.
• ShakespeareHeavens rain grace
  On that which breeds between them.

Synonyms

• (take care of in infancy and through childhood) raise, bring up, rear

Derived terms

Noun

1. All animals or plants of the same species or subspecies.a breed of tulipa breed of animal
2. A race or lineage.
3. (informal) A group of people with shared characteristics.People who were taught classical Greek and Latin at school are a dying breed.

Anagrams

• brede