selective breeding

noun

: the process of modifying the characteristics of living things especially to enhance one or more desirable traits by selection in breeding controlled by humans
After about three years of selective breeding, their company, Cavendish Game Birds, was able to deliver quail that consistently dressed out to seven or eight ounces.Warren Schultz
Selective breeding continues in an attempt to enhance the human use of this economic plant against a background of disappointingly low rubber content …John M. Miller and Ralph A. Backhaus
Fixed through selective breeding, traits could vanish over several generations if people became careless in choosing their dogs' mates.Mark Derr

called also artificial selection

Examples of selective breeding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In contrast, domestic species grew progressively larger, due to selective breeding favoring animals that could provide more meat, milk, wool, strength or companionship. New Atlas, 7 Sep. 2025 The findings also show how quickly selective breeding can shape an entire species, with a few genetic changes altering the course of history. Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2025 Galton, who coined the term eugenics, pioneered correlation and regression and used these tools to argue that traits like intelligence and morality were heritable and should be managed through selective breeding. Craig Spencer, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025 Changes in flower color through selective breeding can also affect leaf color, as genes involved in pigment production can affect multiple plant tissues. Claire Therese Hemingway, The Conversation, 18 Aug. 2025 Eugenics is a highly controversial (and discredited) set of beliefs that the human population can improve or advance itself through selective breeding. Jay Stahl, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2025 Named after the Pima tribe originating from the western region of the Americas, this strain of cotton was cultivated from a series of selective breeding, learned from the Pima people, and adopted by enslaved Africans in the South. Cierra Black, Essence, 9 July 2025 Put together, the findings suggest that the emergence of the longer-type genes may be a result of genetic changes associated with domestication and selective breeding. Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025 These findings further undermine the notion that selective breeding has led to functionally superior traits in certain breeds. Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of selective breeding was in 1863

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Cite this Entry

“Selective breeding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selective%20breeding. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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