INBREEDING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does inbreeding mean? 

• INBREEDING (noun)
  The noun INBREEDING has 1 sense:

1. the act of mating closely related individuals

  Familiarity information: INBREEDING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INBREEDING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of mating closely related individuals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("inbreeding" is a kind of...):

conjugation; coupling; mating; pairing; sexual union; union (the act of pairing a male and female for reproductive purposes)

 Context examples 

This line has been maintained through inbreeding.

(Darjeeling Zebrafish, NCI Thesaurus)

Genetic analysis of the milk teeth revealed the two individuals sequenced showed no evidence of inbreeding which was occurring in the declining Neanderthal populations at the time.

(DNA from 31,000-year-old milk teeth leads to discovery of new group of ancient Siberians, University of Cambridge)

Most plants have developed mechanisms to prevent self‑fertilization and the detrimental effects of inbreeding.

(Some plants are capable of ‘rubbing’ themselves for hours in order to achieve self fertilization, University of Granada)

In biological research, inbreeding allows for the selection of specific genotypes or phenotypes that are of particular importance to the study being carried out.

(Inbred Mouse Strains, NCI Thesaurus)

The findings are a warning to conservationists that keeping a small pool of endangered animals could result in inbreeding and genomic meltdown.

(Genetic ‘Mutational Meltdown’ Doomed Woolly Mammoths, VOA)

Immunodeficient mice may be derived by inbreeding or genetic engineering.

(Immunodeficient Mouse, NCI Thesaurus)