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

There are two hybridizing subspecies with different colored bills. —Simon Griffith, JSTOR Daily, 5 Dec. 2024

Seeds from heirloom vegetables — those that have not been hybridized or otherwise manipulated — can be saved from year to year and counted on to produce crops similar to their mother. —Jessica Damiano, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024

Members of the taxonomic genus Cucurbita, the half dozen or so original species have been hybridized and selected over the last 10,000 or so years to yield an impressive diversity of varieties. —Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 18 Oct. 2024

Cultivators are using genetic sequencing and are hybridizing cultivars from ever more distant lineages to hunt for improvements, plus sheer aesthetic novelty. —Mattha Busby, WIRED, 10 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

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