I. breed 1 /briːd/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle bred /bred/)
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: bredan ]
1 . [intransitive] if animals breed, they ↑ mate in order to have babies:
Eagles breed during the cooler months of the year.
2 . [transitive] to keep animals or plants in order to produce babies or new plants, especially ones with particular qualities:
These dogs were originally bred in Scotland to round up sheep.
⇨ ↑ crossbreed 1 , ↑ purebred , ↑ thoroughbred
3 . [transitive] to cause a particular feeling or condition:
Poor living conditions breed violence and despair.
4 . [transitive] if a place, situation, or thing breeds a particular type of person, it produces that type:
Society’s obsession with sex has bred a generation of unhappy children.
⇨ ↑ well-bred , ⇨ born and bred at ↑ born 2 (3)
II. breed 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a type of animal that is kept as a pet or on a farm
breed of
Spaniels are my favourite breed of dog.
2 . a particular kind of person or type of thing:
Real cowboys are a dying breed (=not many exist anymore) .
Dodd was one of that rare breed (=there are not many of them) who could make the game of football look simple.
breed of
a new breed of international criminal