<p><strong>verb</strong></p><ul><li>to produce (offspring); procreate; engender.</li><li>to produce by mating; propagate sexually; reproduce: Ten mice were bred in the laboratory.</li><li>Horticulture. to cause to reproduce by controlled pollination.</li><li>to improve by controlled pollination and selection.</li><li>to raise (cattle, sheep, etc.): He breeds longhorns on the ranch.</li><li>to cause or be the source of; engender; give rise to: Dirt breeds disease.</li><li>Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes.</li><li>to develop by training or education; bring up; rear: He was born and bred a gentleman.</li><li>to produce more fissile nuclear fuel than is consumed in a reactor.</li><li>to impregnate; mate: Breed a strong mare with a fast stallion and hope for a Derby winner.</li></ul><p><strong>verb</strong></p><ul><li>to produce offspring: Many animals breed in the spring.</li><li>to be engendered or produced; grow; develop: Bacteria will not breed in alcohol.</li><li>to cause the birth of young, as in raising stock.</li><li>to be pregnant.</li></ul><p><strong>noun</strong></p><ul><li>Genetics. a relatively homogenous group of animals within a species, developed and maintained by humans.</li><li>lineage; stock; strain: She comes from a fine breed of people.</li><li>Synonyms: line, pedigree, family.</li><li>sort; kind; group: Scholars are a quiet breed.</li><li>Disparaging and Offensive. half-breed (def 1).</li></ul>