Main Entry:

¹breed

Pronunciation:

\ˈbrēd\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

bred \ˈbred\ ; breed·ing

Etymology:

Middle English breden, from Old English brēdan; akin to Old English brōd brood

Date:

before 12th century

transitive verb1: to produce (offspring) by hatching or gestation2 a: beget 1 b: produce, engender <despair often breeds violence>3: to propagate (plants or animals) sexually and usually under controlled conditions <bred several strains of corn together to produce a superior variety>4 a: bring up, nurture <born and bred in the country> b: to inculcate by training <breed good manners into one's children>5 a: ⁴mate 3 b: to mate with : inseminate c: impregnate 26: to produce (a fissionable element) by bombarding a nonfissionable element with neutrons from a radioactive elementintransitive verb1 a: to produce offspring by sexual union b: copulate, mate2: to propagate animals or plants