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Definition 2024


unbreed

unbreed

English

Noun

unbreed (plural unbreeds)

  1. The mutt, considered as a breed in its own right.
    • 2005, Julia Szabo, The Underdog: A Celebration of Mutts, Workman Publishing (2005), ISBN 9780761133483:
      They are a generic, a noname animal, the unbreed, one of a kind, and in these days of mass-produced merchandise, of branding run rampant, the mutt's uniqueness is a priceless commodity.
    • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:unbreed.

Verb

unbreed (third-person singular simple present unbreeds, present participle unbreeding, simple past and past participle unbred)

  1. To undo breeding or its effects.
    • 1967, Child Development: Readings in Experimental Analysis (eds. Sidney W. Bijou & Donald M. Baer), Appleton-Century-Crofts (1967), page 111:
      We cannot unbreed the child and reconstitute his genes in a happier combination.
    • 2005, Tara Brautigam, "Pit bull ban? Owners and officials facing off", The Spectator, 24 January 2005:
      "That's what they were bred for and you just can't unbreed that kind of stuff in an animal overnight," Ellis said.
    • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:unbreed.
  2. To cause to become extinct through insufficient fertility.
    • 2004, Ben J. Wattenberg, Fewer: How the New Demography of Depopulation Will Shape Our Future, Ivan R. Dee (2004), ISBN 9781566636063, page 16:
      (No, I don't think the human species will unbreed itself out of existence.)
    • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:unbreed.
  3. (figuratively) To unmake or destroy.
    • 1991, Kenneth Craig, The Arab Christian: A History in the Middle East, Westminster/John Knox Press (1991), ISBN 9780664219451, page 208:
      In the 1970s it was different, and there was no feasible Shihāb to hold the ring and unbreed suspicion.
    • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:unbreed.