Source: The Collins English Dictionary © 1998 HarperCollins Publishers
breed [brid]
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.
n.
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 bredan, of Germanic origin; related to {brood}]