Meaning & use
highbred
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparableformal
Coming from a respected family or a carefully chosen line of animals; showing good manners and refinement.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a highbred horse; the family was highbred.
Patterns
- a highbred person
- a highbred animal
- be highbred
The old portrait showed a highbred lady in a silk gown.
Their highbred horses were too expensive for most farmers to buy.
He spoke with the calm, highbred manners of his grandparents.
adjectivenot comparabletechnical
Produced by mating animals or plants of superior stock.
Grammar: Mainly used before a noun in descriptions of livestock or crops.
Patterns
- highbred livestock
- highbred stock
- a highbred variety
The farm specialized in highbred cattle that produced more milk.
Growers paid a high price for highbred seed from the north.
Only highbred dogs were allowed in that competition.
Common combinations
- highbred family
- She came from a highbred family that had lived there for centuries.
- highbred manners
- His highbred manners impressed everyone at the dinner.
- highbred horse
- The stable was known for its highbred horses.
- highbred stock
- They improved the herd by bringing in highbred stock.
Synonyms and how they differ
- well-bred
- More common in everyday English and used mostly for people with good manners or animals of good stock.
- aristocratic
- Focuses on belonging to the highest social class rather than on manners or breeding.
- pedigree
- Used mainly for animals and usually before a noun, as in a pedigree dog; it does not describe people's manners.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: highbred or highbrow? highbred or hybrid?
highbred vs highbrow
Highbrow describes serious, intellectual tastes in art or books, not family background or breeding.
highbred vs hybrid
Hybrid means made from two different types or species, which is almost the opposite of pure highbred stock.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'highbred' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Highbred' describes good breeding or family background, so it fits a puppy from champion parents. The other sentences describe actions or states that any dog could have, so the word adds no meaning about breeding.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “highbred”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.