bred

past tense of breed
1
as in propagated
to bring forth offspring rabbits will breed very frequently unless they're kept separated

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
3
4
as in slept
to engage in sexual intercourse cats breeding outside our window made a horrible racket last night

Synonyms & Similar Words

5

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bred Even the same people who bred Flaco for captivity stumble through answers about why keeping wild animals in confinement is, somehow, the right choice for them. Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 30 July 2026 Chief was bred and adopted in North Carolina, but was later found at a shelter. Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 30 July 2026 For the fourth year in a row, Indian grey hornbills have bred successfully in Gujarat’s Gir landscape, according to The Better India. Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026 Scarce cultural assets are born organically, not bred artificially, and these assets are where pricing power lives. George Wells, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 The animal, fizzing with the inexhaustible energy of a creature bred for hauling chockablock toboggans, was confined to a tiny pen, a mere twenty feet square, behind the neighbor’s trailer. Literary Hub, 10 July 2026 There’s a lot of talk about dogs being bred and sold, and Lopez said she’s seen evidence of animals being mistreated. Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026 There are both yellow and red tomato varieties bred for heat tolerance, with smaller cherry and plum varieties generally handling high temperatures better than larger varieties. The Spruce, 28 June 2026 The rash was much milder in mice bred with defective itch-sensing nerve cells. ABC News, 27 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bred
Verb
  • Over time, that standard propagated across the broader platform.
    Vishal Saxena, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • This is the notion, endlessly propagated online, that white populations in modern Western countries are being replaced by brown and Black alien populations, and that this replacement is a project — commonly attributed to Jews.
    Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026
Verb
  • Multiple people familiar with the matter said the crown prince raised concerns about plans for potential strikes on Iran during the call.
    Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The union has also raised questions about Cázares' role as fiscal advisor, pointing to her previous work overseeing other financially troubled school districts and questioning her compensation.
    Richard Ramos, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Tectonic movement also created today's Central Valley, a highly productive agricultural area that was once part of the ocean, then an inland sea, and then a freshwater lake, Lozos said.
    Rong-Gong Lin II Los Angeles Times, Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2026
  • In the first week of spring training in February, when the first-year manager wanted to raise the topic of how news of his hiring had broken, his attempt to set the record straight only created further confusion for some.
    Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Meanwhile, Wonsley’s husband, Elmore, went to the house where Wells had slept the night before to retrieve Wells’ keys.
    Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2026
  • Many residents slept inside their vehicles in parks, at the town hall parking lot or outside their homes.
    ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026
Verb
  • If your bed is already planted, topdress the soil with a few inches of organic matter like wood chips, straw, leaf mold, or pine bark instead of mixing it into the soil.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 29 July 2026
  • Rough stone walls, planted roofs, sandy plaster and warm wood allow the buildings to recede into the landscape.
    Melinda Sheckells, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Verb
  • Even companies that are a step closer to infrastructure, including Jasper and Tome, remain exposed the moment model providers ship the same feature, proof that sitting lower in the stack rescues nobody when the layer itself can be reproduced.
    Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • But the deeper misconception, Zacharia and other scholars say, is that there exists a single, correct ancient world the film could have reproduced.
    Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 22 July 2026
Verb
  • Christie’s has fostered their relationship with tech wealth by being aggressively open to selling NFTs, for example.
    Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 21 July 2026
  • Politically, the World Cup fostered a rare sense of unity and cultural appreciation, bridging divides and celebrating diverse communities.
    Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Verb
  • Then in August 2021, Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans, so the couple brought Family Meal back at a time when many were not just without food, but water and electricity.
    Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Boston moved Garciaparra in a four-team blockbuster that brought Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz to the club as the Red Sox reshaped their roster ahead of an eventual World Series championship.
    Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Bred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bred. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on bred

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!