|to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.|
|to flee; abscond:|
|—vb , breeds, breeding, bred|
|1.||to bear (offspring)|
|2.||(tr) to bring up; raise|
|3.||to produce or cause to produce by mating; propagate|
|4.||to produce and maintain new or improved strains of (domestic animals and plants)|
|5.||to produce or be produced; generate: to breed trouble; violence breeds in densely populated areas|
|6.||a group of organisms within a species, esp a group of domestic animals, originated and maintained by man and having a clearly defined set of characteristics|
|7.||a lineage or race: a breed of Europeans|
|8.||a kind, sort, or group: a special breed of hatred|
|[Old English brēdan, of Germanic origin; related to |
|breed (brēd) Pronunciation Key
Noun A group of organisms having common ancestors and sharing certain traits that are not shared with other members of the same species. Breeds are usually produced by mating selected parents.
application of genetic principles to produce plants that are more useful to humans. This is accomplished by selecting plants found to be economically or aesthetically desirable, first by controlling the mating of selected individuals, and then by selecting certain individuals among the progeny. Such processes, repeated over many generations, can change the hereditary makeup and value of a plant population far beyond the natural limits of previously existing populations. This article emphasizes the application of genetic principles to the improvement of plants; the biological factors underlying plant breeding are dealt with in the article heredity.
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