hotbed

hot·bed

noun \ˈhät-ˌbed\

Definition of HOTBED

1

: a bed of soil enclosed in glass, heated especially by fermenting manure, and used for forcing or for raising seedlings

2

: an environment that favors rapid growth or development <a hotbed of activity>

Examples of HOTBED

1. a hotbed of political unrest
2. <prerevolutionary Boston was viewed as a hotbed of treason by the British>

First Known Use of HOTBED

1626

Related to HOTBED

Synonyms: breeding ground, hothouse, nest, nidus, nursery, seedbed, seminary

Related Words: crucible; base, capital, center, core, cynosure, eye, focus, heart, hub, mecca, nucleus, seat; focus, headquarters

[+]more[-]hide

Rhymes with HOTBED

abed, ahead, airhead, baldhead, beachhead, bedspread, bedstead, beebread, behead, bestead, bighead, biped, blackhead, blockhead, bloodred, bloodshed, bobsled, bonehead, brain-dead, break bread, bridgehead, brown bread, bulkhead, bullhead, catch dead, cathead, childbed, clubhead, coed, cokehead, corn bread, corn-fed, cowshed, crackhead, crispbread, crisphead, crossbred, crosshead, daybed, deadhead, death's-head, deathbed, dispread, dogsled, dopehead, drop-dead, drophead, drumhead, dumbhead, egghead, embed, far-red, farmstead, fathead, flatbed, forehead, foresaid, French bread, fry bread, Gateshead, gearhead, godhead, greenhead, half-bred, hardhead, highbred, hogshead, homebred, homestead, hophead, hothead, ill-bred, inbred, instead, jarhead, juicehead, knock dead, lamed, light bread, lowbred, lunkhead, make head, masthead, meathead, moped, naled, outspread, packthread, phys ed, pinhead, pithead, point spread, pothead, premed, printhead, purebred, quick bread, railhead, redhead, red lead, re-tread, retread, roadbed, roadstead, Roundhead, saphead, scarehead, screw thread, seabed, seedbed, sheep ked, sheepshead, sheetfed, shewbread, shortbread, sickbed, skinhead, snowshed, softhead, sorehead, spearhead, spoon bread, springhead, steelhead, straightbred, streambed, subhead, sweetbread, swellhead, thickhead, toolshed, towhead, trailhead, Turk's head, unbred, undead, unread, unsaid, unthread, untread, Volstead, warhead, webfed, well-bred, wellhead, well-read, white-bread, whitehead, white lead, widespread, wingspread, woodshed, woolshed