- breed
- breed1 [ brid ] (past tense and past participle bred [ bred ] ) verb **1. ) intransitive if animals breed, they become the parents of young animals:The birds have bred successfully for the past six years.a ) HUMOROUS to have childrenb ) breed like rabbits OFFENSIVE to have a lot of children2. ) transitive to produce new plants or animals from existing ones, especially in order to produce plants or animals with particular qualities:She breeds sheep.attempts to breed a new disease-resistant type of corn3. ) transitive to make negative feelings or situations develop:Secrecy breeds distrust.a ) sometimes used for saying that something good is achieved:Success tends to breed success.b ) be bred of something LITERARY to be the result of something=> FAMILIARITYbreedbreed 2 [ brid ] noun count **1. ) a particular type of animal that is different from others, but not so different that it is another SPECIES:breed of: What breeds of dog are especially good with children?2. ) a particular type of person or thing:a rare/dying breed: His father was one of a dying breed a truly independent politician.breed of: one of the new breed of Internet millionaires
Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.