breeding 1 of 2

Definition of breedingnext

breeding

2 of 2

verb

present participle of breed
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2
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4
as in sleeping
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 breeding
Noun
Jaya, who moved to the zoo in 2019, and Hesty have spent time together in the past few years as part of a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums species survival plan. Katie Langford, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 2026 The largest breeding facility was Envigo, which operated a facility in Cumberland, Virginia, but it was shut down in 2022 following federal lawsuits and investigations that found severe animal welfare violations. Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 25 Mar. 2026
Verb
She was arraigned on charges of operating an unlicensed dog-breeding facility and wire fraud. J.d. Miles, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026 Only through breeding this rose with other types did vivid yellow roses — along with new hybrid colors such as apricot, orange, copper, and reddish-orange — become regular garden fare. Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 21 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for breeding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breeding
Noun
  • That experience introduced mo‘o—continuity, succession—as a guiding thread for the triennial, reminding me that everything exists in relation and within long lineages of care.
    Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Stoudemire joins a lineage of Jewish basketball icons in the Hall of Fame, including Sue Bird, who was inducted last year, Nancy Lieberman, Nat Holman, Barney Sedran, Max Friedman and Dolph Schayes — the only other Jewish player to have his number retired in the NBA.
    Jacob Gurvis, Sun Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Despite religious and phenotypic differences, people around the western Mediterranean Sea have been interacting, trading, warring, migrating, and reproducing together for centuries.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Vexingly, the war with Iran is reproducing in macrocosm what those wars taught in microcosm.
    Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • But the arc — first raising expectations for a big reveal, then declaring there was nothing to see, and ultimately a forced, flawed document dump — was a stubbornly problematic storyline that ran through her time as attorney general.
    ABC News, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Despite recent rain and snow in Northern California, state water officials say the Sierra snowpack remains near historic lows, raising concerns about water availability during the hot summer months.
    Brady Halbleib, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • On the Island of the Gods, fresh ideas arrive like waves, creating a glorious cocktail of cultures and influences.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2026
  • One recalled how their oldest child once pushed an unplugged vacuum cleaner across the living room, carefully creating vacuum lines without actually cleaning anything.
    Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Despite her difficult start, Kaiko has since been recovering in her new home, with the viral video capturing a quiet but significant milestone—her first night sleeping indoors.
    Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
  • The suspect was stuck in the shoulder while a stray bullet grazed a sleeping 71-year-old in a near by home.
    Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Politicians planting universal child care programs in rocky soil shouldn’t expect a garden.
    Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Others got their hands dirty by planting trees, painting murals or picking up trash along park trails.
    Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Hence a new lawsuit challenging a medical scholarship administered by the Department of Health and Human Services that bars applicants who don’t have Native Hawaiian ancestry.
    Editorial Board, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2026
  • In the Americas, only Chile and Colombia do not grant birthright citizenship, relying instead on jus sanguinis or citizenship based on ancestry rather than place of birth.
    Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • That means that winemakers across what is now France must have switched from domesticating wild grapes to propagating them directly—that is, cloning grapevines by taking cuttings of the plants to start new groves.
    Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Here are two simple methods for propagating ZZ plants.
    SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 10 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Breeding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breeding. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.

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