hybridize

verb

hy·​brid·​ize ˈhī-brə-ˌdīz 

hybridized; hybridizing

transitive verb

: to cause to produce hybrids : interbreed

intransitive verb

: to produce hybrids

hybridization

ˌhī-brə-də-ˈzā-shən 

noun

hybridizer noun

Examples of hybridize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In defeat, Pratt’s next move is likely to be a pivot as a right-wing media figure, hybridizing the roles of news pundit and unscripted figure. —Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 8 June 2026

According to Koether, commercial growers in the Netherlands follow a complex, multi-year process to hybridize, plant, grow, dig, and store tulip bulbs. —Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026

The rose is hybridized by Burling Leong and introduced by Burlington Rose Nursery. —Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2025

Daylilies hybridize easily and letting the seeds fall and germinate may result in new plants that aren’t true to the original. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for hybridize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize
• butterflies

Kids Definition

hybridize

verb

hy·​brid·​ize ˈhī-brə-ˌdīz 

hybridized; hybridizing

: to produce or cause to produce hybrids : interbreed

hybridization

ˌhī-brəd-ə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

hybridizer

ˈhī-brə-ˌdī-zər

noun

Medical Definition

hybridize

verb

hy·​brid·​ize

variants also British hybridise

ˈhī-brə-ˌdīz 

hybridized also British hybridised; hybridizing also British hybridising

transitive verb

: to cause to interbreed or combine so as to produce hybrids

hybridize two species

fuse and hybridize somatic cells of two different species

hybridize two DNAs

intransitive verb

: to produce hybrids

hybridization noun

also British hybridisation

ˌhī-brəd-ə-ˈzā-shən 

hybridizer noun

also British hybridiser