- 1 a particular type of animal that has been developed by people in a controlled way, especially a type of dog, cat or farm animal Labradors and other large breeds of dog a breed of cattle/sheep rare breeds Wordfinderbiologybiology, biotechnology, breed, cell, chromosome, DNA, gene, mutation, organism, protein Wordfinderbreedbreed, class, classification, genus, hybrid, kingdom, order, phylum, species, taxonomy Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivenew, rare, hardy, … verb + breedkeep, use, recognize, … prepositionbreed of See full entry See related entries: Animal farming
- 2[usually singular] a type of person He represents a new breed of politician. Players as skilful as this are a rare breed. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivenew, dying, rare, … prepositionbreed of phrasesa breed apart See full entry Word OriginOld English brēdan ‘produce (offspring), bear (a child)’, of Germanic origin; related to German brüten, also to brood.Extra examples Health workers are a breed apart in their commitment and dedication to duty. It takes a special breed of person to be a surgeon. This breed is used for both milk and meat production. Three years later the breed was officially recognized. a farm that keeps rare breeds a new breed of dairy cattle a new breed of international criminals Players as skilful as this are a rare breed.
Check pronunciation: breed
