hotbed

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noun hot·bed \ 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

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Examples of hotbed in a Sentence

a hotbed of political unrest
prerevolutionary Boston was viewed as a hotbed of treason by the British

Recent Examples of hotbed from the Web

China’s rust-belt provinces are a hotbed for shadow banking.

— luke kawa, Bloomberg.com, "Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day," 29 Aug. 2017
The country is a hotbed of coals that's one splash of lighter fluid away from burning down, but Swift is obsessed with the one shiny object that can hold her attention: Taylor Swift.

— jeffrey lee puckett, The Courier-Journal, "Someone made Taylor Swift put out a terrible song, or maybe it's just her fault," 25 Aug. 2017
From 2008 to 2016, GOP officials expanded early voting stations in Republican dominated Hamilton County, IndyStar's analysis found, and decreased them in the state's biggest Democratic hotbed, Marion County.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "There Are Two New Fronts in the War on Voting," 11 Aug. 2017
Today the state is a hotbed of people like my correspondent above.

— jon talton, The Seattle Times, "Getting ahead: The allure and limitations of the bootstrap," 8 Aug. 2017
Instagram in particular has become a hotbed of expression for stylish women sick of not seeing their body types represented in fashion.

— jada yuan, The Cut, "Now, This Is a Supermodel," 6 Aug. 2017
VR on Macs probably won’t be a hotbed of innovation for now based on what Apple has announced.

— samuel axon, Ars Technica, "The state of Mac gaming," 14 July 2017
Dutchess County is a patchwork of forests, rolling farmland and thick residential developments that has long been a hotbed of Lyme disease.

— Washington Post, "Tick towns: Researchers target neighborhoods in Lyme effort," 5 July 2017
Dutchess County is a patchwork of forests, rolling farmland and thick residential developments that has long been a hotbed of Lyme disease.

— Washington Post, "Tick towns: Researchers target neighborhoods in Lyme effort," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hotbed.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of hotbed

1626

hotbed Synonyms

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

HOTBED Defined for English Language Learners

hotbed

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noun

Definition of hotbed for English Language Learners

: a place where something grows or develops easily : a place where something happens very commonly

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See words that rhyme with hotbed Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hotbed Spanish Central: Translation of hotbed Nglish: Translation of hotbed for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hotbed for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hotbed

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hotbed

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hotbed

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