hybrid

1 of 2

noun

hy·​brid ˈhī-brəd 

1

: an offspring of two animals or plants of different subspecies, breeds, varieties, species, or genera

a hybrid of two roses

2

: a person whose background is a blend of two diverse cultures or traditions

3

a

: something heterogeneous in origin or composition : composite

hybrids of complementary DNA and RNA strands

a hybrid of medieval and Renaissance styles

b

: something (such as a power plant, vehicle, or electronic circuit) that has two different types of components performing essentially the same function

drives a hybrid that gets really good mileage

hybridism

ˈhī-brə-ˌdi-zəm 

noun

hybridity

hī-ˈbri-də-tē 

noun

hybrid

2 of 2

adjective

1

: relating to or produced from parents of different species, varieties, or breeds

a hybrid rose

hybrid cattle

2

: having or produced by a combination of two or more distinct elements : marked by heterogeneity in origin, composition, or appearance

… difficulties with normal English are … its hybrid vocabulary and the irregularities of English spelling.

—G. A. Miller

a hybrid style

3

: having two different types of components performing essentially the same function

a hybrid vehicle

Synonyms

Noun

• cross
• crossbred
• crossbreed
• intercross
• mongrel

Adjective

• cold-blooded
• coldblood
• cross
• crossbred
• mixed
• mongrel

Examples of hybrid in a Sentence

Noun

a hybrid of two roses

The band plays a hybrid of jazz and rock.

Adjective

a hybrid rose called "American Beauty" was actually first developed in France

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The same grass/plastic hybrid, but this time grown at a turf farm 200 miles north of London and then rolled into 720 pieces of pitch, loaded onto lorries and driven south. —Matt Slater, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

In New York, there are 172,000 electric vehicles and 114,000 hybrids on the road, according to data from Atlas Public Policy. —Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025

Adjective

Zweig remains angry about what his kids lost, too, during the era of remote and hybrid school. —Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2025

Gilroy rejects cultural nationalism and rooted identity formation, instead calling attention to the mobile, hybrid double-consciousness of modern Black identity—being European and being Black, for instance, are not and were not mutually exclusive. —Abby Clayton, JSTOR Daily, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Latin hybrida

First Known Use

Noun

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

circa 1775, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing hybrid

• hybrid computer
• hybrid tea rose
• hybrid vigor

Kids Definition

hybrid

noun

hy·​brid

ˈhī-brəd

1

: an offspring of two animals or plants of different subspecies, breeds, varieties, species, or genera

2

: a person whose background is a blend of two diverse cultures or traditions

3

: something having or produced by a combination or two or more distinct elements

4

: something having two different types of components performing essentially the same function

a hybrid vehicle

hybrid adjective

Medical Definition

hybrid

noun

hy·​brid ˈhī-brəd 

1

: an offspring of two animals or plants of different races, breeds, varieties, species, or genera

2

: something heterogeneous in origin or composition

artificial hybrids of DNA and RNA

somatic cell hybrids of mouse and human cells

hybrid adjective

hybridism

-brə-ˌdiz-əm 

noun

hybridity

hī-ˈbrid-ət-ē 

noun

plural hybridities

Legal Definition

hybrid

adjective

hy·​brid

ˈhī-brid

: consisting of diverse components: as

a

: of, relating to, or being a lawsuit brought by an employee under the Labor Management Relations Act against both the employer for breach of contract and the union for breach of the duty of fair representation

b

: of, relating to, or being representation of a criminal defendant in which the defendant represents himself or herself with the assistance of a lawyer