breed

/bɹiːd/

//bɹiːd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"breed" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“breed” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,213 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#6,213
frequency rank, English
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To produce offspring sexually; to bear young.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

breed vs brew
60% similar
breed vs brie
60% similar
breed vs bren
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for breed
PropertyValue
Headwordbreed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɹiːd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,213
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “breed” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). breed lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for breed is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɹiːd/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,213 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for breed, with forms such as "bbreed", "bered", and "brede". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "brew", "brie", "bren", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English breden, from Old English brēdan, from Proto-Germanic *brōdijaną (“to brood”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“warm”). Cognate with Scots brede, breid, Saterland Frisian briede, West Frisian briede, Low German bröden, Dutch … The correct English form is breed, spelled B-R-E-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To produce offspring sexually; to bear young.
  2. 2
    To give birth to; to be the native place of.
  3. 3
    To mate.
  4. 4
    To keep (animals) and have (them) reproduce in a way that improves the next generation's qualities.
  5. 5
    To arrange the mating of (specific animals).
  6. 6
    To propagate or grow (plants) in an effort to give (them) certain qualities.
  7. 7
    To take care of in infancy and through childhood; to bring up.
  8. 8
    To yield or result in.
  9. 9
    To be formed in the parent or dam; to be generated or to grow, like young before birth.
  10. 10
    To educate; to instruct; to bring up.
  11. 11
    To produce or obtain by any natural process.
  12. 12
    To have birth; to be produced, developed, or multiplied.
  13. 13
    To ejaculate inside (a person or a bodily orifice of same); to creampie.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English breden, from Old English brēdan, from Proto-Germanic *brōdijaną (“to brood”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“warm”). Cognate with Scots brede, breid, Saterland Frisian briede, West Frisian briede, Low German bröden, Dutch broeden, German brüten.

Synonyms

raisebring uprearcreampiecream

This word in other languages

criar(Español)se reproduire(Français)aufziehen(Deutsch)procriar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbreed,bered,brede,breedd,brreed,rbeed

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of breed - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbreed1bered2brede2breedd1brreed1rbeed2
Edit distance from "breed"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "breed"?
"breed" is spelled B-R-E-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹiːd/.
What does "breed" mean?
As a verb, "breed" means: To produce offspring sexually; to bear young.
What words are commonly confused with "breed"?
"breed" is commonly confused with "brew", "brie", "bren". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "breed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "breed" is /bɹiːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "breed"?
Inherited from Middle English breden, from Old English brēdan, from Proto-Germanic *brōdijaną (“to brood”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“warm”). Cognate with Scots brede, breid, Saterland Frisian briede, West Frisian briede, Low German bröd... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “breed”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-R-E-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bɹiːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “brew” - see the side-by-side comparison. breed vs brew
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list