Meaning of breed
Pronunciation: (brēd), [key]
— v., n. bred, breed•ing,
- to produce (offspring); procreate; engender.
- to produce by mating; propagate sexually; reproduce: Ten mice were bred in the laboratory.
- to cause to reproduce by controlled pollination.
- to improve by controlled pollination and selection.
- to raise (cattle, sheep, etc.): He breeds longhorns on the ranch.
- to cause or be the source of; engender; give rise to: Dirt breeds disease. Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes.
- to develop by training or education; bring up; rear: He was born and bred a gentleman.
- to produce more fissile nuclear fuel than is consumed in a reactor.
- to impregnate; mate: Breed a strong mare with a fast stallion and hope for a Derby winner.
- to produce offspring: Many animals breed in the spring.
- to be engendered or produced; grow; develop: Bacteria will not breed in alcohol.
- to cause the birth of young, as in raising stock.
- to be pregnant.
- a relatively homogenous group of animals within a species, developed and maintained by humans.
- lineage; stock; strain: She comes from a fine breed of people.
- sort; kind; group: Scholars are a quiet breed.
- half-breed (def. 2).
- breed (Thesaurus)