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Definition of "breeding" []

  • One's line of descent; ancestry: a person of noble breeding. (noun)
  • Training in the proper forms of social and personal conduct. (noun)
  • Production of offspring or young. (noun)
  • The propagation of animals or plants. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "breeding" in a sentence
  • "III. ii.31 (278,2) [complain of good breeding] I am in doubt whether the custom of the language in Shakespeare's time did not authorise this mode of speech, and make _complain of good breeding_ the same with _complain_ of the want of _good_ breeding."
  • "Pumpkin breeding is done by hand, with breeders using pollen from one variety to pollinate another, he said."
  • "For the last, the term breeding-in, or close breeding, is generally deemed more suitable."