# breed

> English word · Verb · IPA /bɹiːd/ · frequency rank #6,213

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

## Easily confused with
- **brew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brew)
- **brie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brie)
- **bren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-bren)
- **broad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-broad)
- **brief** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brief)
- **brett** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brett)
- **Brent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brent)
- **brood** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brood)
- **brews** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brews)
- **Brest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brest)
- **buried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-buried)
- **burned** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-burned)
- **breeze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-breeze)
- **breeds** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-breeds)
- **brewer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brewer)
- **Brenda** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brenda)
- **brewed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-brewed)
- **breezy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-breezy)
- **bribed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-bribed)
- **Bremen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/breed-vs-bremen)

## Common misspellings (6)
`bbreed`, `bered`, `brede`, `breedd`, `brreed`, `rbeed`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/breed