breed

UK: /ˈbriːd/ US: /brid/ ,(brēd)

Inflections of 'breed' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

breeds

v 3rd person singular

breeding

v pres p

bred

v past

bred

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

breed /brid/   v., bred/brɛd/  breed•ing, n. 
v. 

1. Animal Husbandry to produce young;
   reproduce;
   procreate:
   [no object] Mosquitoes breed in still ponds.
2. Botany to cause (plants or animals) to produce offspring and to be improved by selection:
   [~ + object] They breed livestock.
3. to give rise to;
   cause;
   produce:
   [~ + object] Dirt breeds disease.
4. to develop by training or education:
   [~ + object] born and bred in Oxford.

n. [countable]

5. Genetics a certain type or group of animals within a species, developed and maintained by humans:
   What breed are your cattle?

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

breed  (brēd), v., bred, breed•ing, n. 
v.t. 

1. Animal Husbandry to produce (offspring);
   procreate;
   engender.
2. Animal Husbandry to produce by mating;
   propagate sexually;
   reproduce:
   Ten mice were bred in the laboratory.
3. [Hort.]
   • Botany to cause to reproduce by controlled pollination.
   • Botany to improve by controlled pollination and selection.
4. Animal Husbandry to raise (cattle, sheep, etc.):
   He breeds longhorns on the ranch.
5. to cause or be the source of;
   engender;
   give rise to:
   Dirt breeds disease. Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes.
6. to develop by training or education;
   bring up;
   rear:
   He was born and bred a gentleman.
7. Physics, Energy [Energy.] to produce more fissile nuclear fuel than is consumed in a reactor.
8. to impregnate;
   mate:
   Breed a strong mare with a fast stallion and hope for a Derby winner.

v.i. 

9. to produce offspring:
   Many animals breed in the spring.
10. to be engendered or produced;
    grow;
    develop:
    Bacteria will not breed in alcohol.
11. Animal Husbandry to cause the birth of young, as in raising stock.
12. to be pregnant.

n. 

13. Genetics a relatively homogenous group of animals within a species, developed and maintained by humans.
14. lineage;
    stock;
    strain:
    She comes from a fine breed of people.
15. sort;
    kind;
    group:
    Scholars are a quiet breed.
16. Slang Terms [Offensive.] half-breed (def. 2).

• bef. 1000; Middle English breden, Old English brēdan to nourish (cognate with Old High German bruotan, German brüten); noun, nominal use from 16th century

breed′a•ble, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1, 2. beget, bear, generate.
• 5. promote, occasion, foster, produce, induce, develop.
• 14. family, pedigree, line.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

breed / briːd/ verb (breeds, breeding, 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

1. 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
2. a lineage or race
3. a kind, sort, or group

Etymology: Old English brēdan, of Germanic origin; related to brood