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breeding
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
breeding
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
breeding ground
▪ Overcrowded slums are breeding grounds for crime.
fish/marine/breeding tank (=for keeping or breeding fish in)
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
captive
▪ Her captive breeding programmes are being attempted.
▪ If they die the whole campaign to save the condor by captive breeding could come under renewed attack.
▪ Public aquariums are a good source of information regarding the status of captive breeding of invertebrates.
▪ The scheme will turn the 36-acre Regents Park site into a first-rate animal conservation and captive breeding centre.
good
▪ You need to learn about good breeding.
▪ He saw a rather pretty woman, not very young, with an air of good breeding that somehow attracted him.
▪ There should not be too much uprooting, and you have a good chance of breeding as long as you do not overcrowd.
▪ It was neat and elegant, like all wild animals, with an air of aristocratic insouciance and good breeding.
▪ Wild stock Without doubt wild-caught fish are the best for breeding and there are now some very good specimens about.
▪ Would the Princess like to recommend two single girls of good breeding who would be acceptable guests?
▪ Then we bought a lovely horse called Prince with much better breeding than the others.
only
▪ There was nothing for girls, only drudgery and breeding, specially paupers like herself.
▪ At the time, the south west of the province was the only breeding zone for the red Cassel.
▪ They will be replaced by lesser black-backed gulls, the only Shetland breeding gull which entirely deserts the islands in winter.
▪ The only remaining breeding population is in the Adelaide zoo.
selective
▪ Among its aims is a new eugenics: selective breeding.
▪ The culmination of years of selective breeding - Richard Tisbury releases a Sanke.
▪ The selective breeding techniques used became blueprints for other breeders and ensured that the Shorthorn quickly ousted Bakewell's then ubiquitous Longhorn.
▪ At Cheltenham Town Hall ... on show the results of years of selective breeding and careful nurturing.
▪ These initial reflections did not include, then, any analogy between artificially and naturally selective breeding.
■ NOUN
bird
▪ Mute Swans are fairly widely distributed breeding birds in Sussex, but little up-to-date information about numbers is available.
▪ Generally the commonest small wader of the shore, very variable in size, northern breeding birds larger than southern ones.
▪ Disturbance and high tides pose the greatest threats to the breeding birds.
colony
▪ In open country, trees becomes sites for breeding colonies which may also facilitate synchronization of breeding.
▪ A plastic dustbin with breeding colony on to which organic waste is showered.
▪ They are condemned to a life of misery in cramped breeding colonies.
▪ Whenever possible breeding colony staff should not be involved with other animals of a potentially lower health status.
▪ The crest is displayed during courtship encounters at breeding colonies.
ground
▪ For they did not start their life here and their ancient breeding grounds are far away.
▪ Culture-specific rules and procedures of turn-taking provide ample breeding ground for misunderstanding.
▪ The construction works on the tunnel would disrupt one of the colony's main breeding grounds.
▪ This leads to dead spots, a breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria.
▪ Elephant seals have started hauling out on mainland beaches in southern California because their offshore island breeding grounds have become too crowded.
▪ Where scum settles on wetted surfaces in kitchens, it creates an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.
▪ The race, the breeding ground, might be missed, both in sporting and traditional terms, should it cease.
▪ Last year, only four Snake River sockeye salmon reached their breeding grounds.
pair
▪ I well remember the excitement of seeing the very first breeding pair on Yell back in the 1950s.
▪ At least you are starting with a breeding pair, but even so you may experience some disharmony.
▪ I already have a breeding pair of convicts, which seem happy in this water.
▪ A breeding pair will chose a site for spawning and defend it with typical cichlid aggression.
▪ They contain mixed fish, including a breeding pair of Golden Orfe.
▪ Dying fry Q I purchased a breeding pair of Convicts two months ago.
▪ Nervous - but breeding I have a breeding pair of Severums in a four foot tank.
▪ Introduce the breeding pair into the tank during late evening.
pairs
▪ Last year there were 80 breeding pairs which produced 100 fledglings - they are now being studied by Durham University.
▪ The thieves knew exactly what they were after - breeding pairs of parrots and parakeets - six thousand pounds worth.
▪ It should be noted that counts of breeding pairs of this species must be made early in the year to be accurate.
▪ Each summer, they find about thirty five new breeding pairs.
▪ There are now only 3,000 breeding pairs in the wild, but there are up to 30,000 in captivity.
plumage
▪ Upperparts spangled with grey or yellowish or black; no white on nape; underparts in breeding plumage largely black.
▪ Striking black and white breeding plumage.
▪ In breeding plumage white of body suffused pink.
▪ We were looking for a bird in brown and white breeding plumage.
population
▪ The county breeding population is therefore unlikely to exceed 100-150 pairs.
▪ The only remaining breeding population is in the Adelaide zoo.
programme
▪ By following a few simple guidelines it is possible to establish a very productive breeding programme.
▪ The park is participating in an international breeding programme with several other zoological collections, to help save the race from extinction.
▪ Instead of waiting for chance spawnings, you can start a breeding programme with any number of different fish species.
▪ The birth is being hailed as a triumph for the zoo's breeding programme.
▪ Most of the birds were pairs, and staff at the sanctuary say it's devastated the centre's breeding programme.
programmes
▪ Her captive breeding programmes are being attempted.
▪ The thefts are ruining breeding programmes.
▪ Such selection has been continued throughout history, and is continuing today in plant and animal breeding programmes.
▪ These national breeding programmes are highly efficient and successful but the diversity has been lost.
▪ No doubt lawyers would be happy with this but conventional breeding programmes could well suffer.
▪ The tamarin will be preserved, in all probability, only if zoos throughout the world cooperate in breeding programmes.
season
▪ Mate fidelity between breeding seasons is relatively low, so a high proportion of the population re-pair each year.
▪ The breeding season lasts from late spring until late summer, depending to some degree upon temperature.
▪ The critical breeding season coincides with peak insect population.
▪ Normally silent, but may grunt in breeding season.
▪ Spawning takes place with varying frequency throughout the breeding season.
▪ In the breeding season males peek more often than females.
▪ Sexing is by coloration, the male is a reddish colour, deepening during the breeding season.
▪ During its water-living phase in the breeding season, the newt becomes quite fish-like.
site
▪ The table lists the more important breeding sites noted from 1970 to 1976, and the numbers found.
stock
▪ The high number of farms with adult cattle was surprising especially in areas more suited to breeding stock.
▪ This, again, ensures that the pool of breeding stock is continually improved with the introduction of non-related bloodlines.
▪ Whilst the dates of Autumn sales for disposal of breeding stock may be the final factor.
▪ The local breeding stock appears to disperse in July and August and winter visitors may start to arrive in September.
▪ They therefore take some of the strain off the younger breeding stock within their species.
▪ Surgery can sometimes assist, but again, the only long-term solution is screening of breeding stock.
success
▪ These levels of breeding success were very similar to those found at the same time in the London area and Leicestershire.
tank
▪ In the breeding tank there are none, so his function becomes obsolete.
▪ Water quality Water in the breeding tanks need to be in top condition.
▪ Comments: A very attractive moss, especially for breeding tanks.
▪ Once the pair has been installed in the breeding tank, they will begin to alter the decor to suit themselves.
▪ The breeding tank should have plenty of gravel, lots of fine-leaved plants, and lighting diffused by floating plants.
▪ The breeding tank - the Java Moss is not for eggs but to protect the female.
▪ The breeding tank Without doubt the water the brood fish are placed in is a vital factor in obtaining a spawning.
■ VERB
keep
▪ Fish kept in the breeding tank while it is not in use could be removed when it is required.
▪ Below: An Oranda is still quite an easy fish to keep despite its fancy breeding.
use
▪ No Rottweiler will be judged or used for breeding who does not have a well-formed, correct and complete set of teeth.
▪ If they are used for breeding, a pair bond appears to have formed.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
breeding/fertile/proving ground
▪ His inspiration fell on fertile ground, prepared by endless repetition.
▪ On their arrival at the breeding grounds, male pied flycatchers find a suitable nesting site.
▪ The position required no athletic ability, but traditionally has served as a proving ground for Mississippi politicians.
▪ The race, the breeding ground, might be missed, both in sporting and traditional terms, should it cease.
▪ The unhygienic conditions of a stable were a breeding ground for all manner of disease and bacteria hazardous to a newborn.
▪ There are 22 events per year, and tracks range from Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground tote Mans.
▪ Where scum settles on wetted surfaces in kitchens, it creates an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a woman of wealth and good breeding
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A plastic dustbin with breeding colony on to which organic waste is showered.
▪ If breeding is part of the experimental protocol then the premises must be designated for both breeding and scientific procedures.
▪ It is not only the breeding pair that occupies the territory around a nest.
▪ She expresses particular concern about the breeding of animals solely for experimental use, including animals with genetic alterations.
▪ So it can be understood that planned breeding is not a new idea.
▪ The reason became apparent when she saw a young female come into breeding condition.
▪ This selection of foods will soon bring your fish into breeding condition.
▪ When winter snow and ice cover the breeding grounds the birds head south to Britain.
Related phrases:
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Breeding

Breed \Breed\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bred; p. pr. & vb. n. Breeding.] [OE. breden, AS. br[=e]dan to nourish, cherish, keep warm, from br[=o]d brood; akin to D. broeden to brood, OHG. bruoten, G. br["u]ten. See Brood.]

  1. To produce as offspring; to bring forth; to bear; to procreate; to generate; to beget; to hatch.

    Yet every mother breeds not sons alike.
    --Shak.

    If the sun breed maggots in a dead dog.
    --Shak.

  2. To take care of in infancy, and through the age of youth; to bring up; to nurse and foster.

    To bring thee forth with pain, with care to breed.
    --Dryden.

    Born and bred on the verge of the wilderness.
    --Everett.

  3. To educate; to instruct; to form by education; to train; -- sometimes followed by up.

    But no care was taken to breed him a Protestant.
    --Bp. Burnet.

    His farm may not remove his children too far from him, or the trade he breeds them up in.
    --Locke.

  4. To engender; to cause; to occasion; to originate; to produce; as, to breed a storm; to breed disease.

    Lest the place And my quaint habits breed astonishment.
    --Milton.

  5. To give birth to; to be the native place of; as, a pond breeds fish; a northern country breeds stout men.

  6. To raise, as any kind of stock.

  7. To produce or obtain by any natural process. [Obs.]

    Children would breed their teeth with less danger.
    --Locke.

    Syn: To engender; generate; beget; produce; hatch; originate; bring up; nourish; train; instruct.

Breeding

Breeding \Breed"ing\, n.

  1. The act or process of generating or bearing.

  2. The raising or improving of any kind of domestic animals; as, farmers should pay attention to breeding.

  3. Nurture; education; formation of manners.

    She had her breeding at my father's charge.
    --Shak.

  4. Deportment or behavior in the external offices and decorums of social life; manners; knowledge of, or training in, the ceremonies, or polite observances of society.

    Delicacy of breeding, or that polite deference and respect which civility obliges us either to express or counterfeit towards the persons with whom we converse.
    --Hume.

  5. Descent; pedigree; extraction. [Obs.]

    Honest gentlemen, I know not your breeding.
    --Shak.

    Close breeding, In and in breeding, breeding from a male and female from the same parentage.

    Cross breeding, breeding from a male and female of different lineage.

    Good breeding, politeness; genteel deportment.

    Syn: Education; instruction; nurture; training; manners. See Education.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
breeding

late 14c., "hatching, incubation;" also "formation, development, growth," verbal noun from breed (v.). Meaning "good manners" is from 1590s.

Wiktionary
breeding

  1. Of, relating to or used for breeding. n. The process through which propagation, growth or development occurs. v

  2. (present participle of breed English)

Related phrases:
WordNet
breeding

adj. producing offspring or set aside especially for producing offspring; "the breeding population"; "retained a few bulls for breeding purposes"

breeding

  1. n. elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression [syn: genteelness, gentility]

  2. the result of good upbringing (especially knowledge of correct social behavior); "a woman of breeding and refinement" [syn: education, training]

  3. raising someone to be an accepted member of the community; "they debated whether nature or nurture was more important" [syn: bringing up, fostering, fosterage, nurture, raising, rearing, upbringing]

  4. the production of animals or plants by inbreeding or hybridization

  5. the sexual activity of conceiving and bearing offspring [syn: reproduction, procreation, facts of life]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Breeding

Breeding is the reproduction that is producing of offspring, usually animals or plants:

  • Breeding in the wild, the natural process of reproduction in the animal kingdom
  • Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rabbits
  • Plant breeding, through selected specimens such as trees

Breeding may also refer to:

Breeding (EP)

Breeding is the first EP by American indie band Dirty Little Rabbits. It was released on August 15, 2007, for sale exclusively through the New York-based record shop Looney Tunes.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "breeding".

Eventually someone hit on the idea of breeding typhus in the labs and spraying it in an aerosol form from airplanes.

A gentleman of breeding would be perfectly able to understand that he should be apologizing instead of ranting and raving.

Rumour, however, was astir, and as I had powerful friends, so, too, I had the powerful enemies which envy must always be breeding for men in high places such as mine.

CHAPTER LVI Pursuit Impassive, as behoves its high breeding, the Dedlock town house stares at the other houses in the street of dismal grandeur and gives no outward sign of anything going wrong within.

CHAPTER LVIII A Wintry Day and Night Still impassive, as behoves its breeding, the Dedlock town house carries itself as usual towards the street of dismal grandeur.

I can think of to keep monotony and boredom, the breeding ground of cafard, from setting in.

He may be able to love violently, but he will never have that fine flower of breeding in his gallantry which distinguished Lauzun, Adhemar, Coigny, and so many others!

He had often watched the white-browed coucals coming in on a long gliding flight to take cover here amongst the reeds in the breeding season.

Along with the recently departed Darrel Feight--William Tyson, Jennifer Gould, Elizabeth Dao, and Warren Laroux shared a devotion to rose breeding.

No introductions took place, and I read the tact of the witty hunchback in the omission, but as all the guests were men used to the manners of the court, that neglect of etiquette did not prevent them from paying every honour to my lovely friend, who received their compliments with that ease and good breeding which are known only in France, and even there only in the highest society, with the exception, however, of a few French provinces in which the nobility, wrongly called good society, shew rather too openly the haughtiness which is characteristic of that class.

Up there, somewhere far away, lay the Dobro breeding camps and the other human prisoners.

Goldsworthy IS a pretty big pill to swallow--to a chap like him, always so faddy about breeding and manners, and that sort of thing.

They had missed the spectacular breeding colonies of the spring when the cliffs were white with nesting guillemots and razorbills and the puffin burrows honeycombed the turf, but there were other visitors now: the migrant goldcrests and fieldfares and buntings -and the seals, hundreds of them, returning to have their pups.

Ginnie, snuggling inside her padded jacket, gave carrots from her pocket to some of the mares in the first yard and walked me without stopping through the empty places, the second yard, the foaling yard, and past the breeding shed.

She had always worn her fragility like a beautiful orchid corsage, as if it were the badge of a true lady, a sign of breeding.