breeder

From breed +‎ -er.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹiːdɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːdə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: breed‧er

breeder (plural breeders)

1. A person who breeds plants or animals (professionally).
   • 2016, Jayson Lusk, Unnaturally Delicious, →ISBN, page 137:

     Breeders have figured out that if they can take one haploid set of chromosomes from a cross and copy it (or double it creating a double haploid), they will have a pure line almost instantly.

2. Ellipsis of breeder reactor; a type of nuclear reactor that creates more fissile material than it consumes, often used for the production of atomic weapons.
4. (cellular automata) A pattern that exhibits quadratic growth by generating multiple copies of a secondary pattern, each of which then generates multiple copies of a tertiary pattern.
   • 1992 June 17, Bill Sharp, comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[1] (Usenet):

     I was wondering if anyone out there could mail me a base for MIT's 'breeder' - the one with 8? puffer trains forming glider-guns. I've seen in in a few books but can't seem to get it working ...

   • 2002 July 23, Owen Rees, “Wolfram and "general 2D simulators"”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[2] (Usenet):

     I later implemented an improved version of the algorithms on an Atari STe, this time the goal was to run the breeder, which it did at 2 gen/sec at the stage when the first glider gun has been assembled.

   • 2008 May 31, Dave Greene, “Life: B37/S23 - A Chaotic Universe.”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[3] (Usenet):

     A glider-emitting breeder pattern can probably also be constructed in this rule, which would out-radiate any chaotic pattern by a considerable margin.

5. (slang, derogatory) A person who has had or who is capable of having children; a person who is focussed on the rearing of their own children.
   • 1729, Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal:

     The number of souls in this kingdom being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couple whose wives are breeders; from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children, although I apprehend there cannot be so many, under the present distresses of the kingdom; but this being granted, there will remain an hundred and seventy thousand breeders.

6. (LGBTQ slang, derogatory) A heterosexual person; one whose sexual intercourse can lead to breeding.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:heterosexual

   Since the breeders started coming here, you can never tell who likes cock.

   • 1979 August 18, Don Shewey, “Gay Spirit”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 5, page 4:

     When visiting gay friends but wishing to avoid any heterosexual passersby or dinner guests of said friends, one can always call ahead and inquire, "Are there breeders in your home?"

   • 1982, Armistead Maupin, Further Tales of the City, New York: Harper & Row, page 105:

     “Hey… what does a breeder know?”
     Michael grinned. “Where did you learn that word?”
     […] “One of the guys at Perry's,” replied Brian. “He said that's what the faggots call us.”

   • 1984 August 27, Steve Upstill, “The Kiss of Death”, in net.motss‎^[4] (Usenet):

     What is this here natural/unnatural stuff, anyway? Seems like a rationalization to this breeder.

   • 2000, “Now Approaching... The Line”, in Queer as Folk, spoken by Brian Kinney (Gale Harold):

     Hey, you try spending an evening with some back-slapping breeder from out of town, smoking cigars, and talking about pussy.

   • 2010, Walter Lape, Alaska Waters, The Hudson Press, →ISBN:

     My father spoke in a quiet, measured voice that gradually increased in tempo and in volume, “Travis, suppose everyone at this table were gay except you, and I called you a trailer-trash breeder?”

7. A 40-gallon fish tank, sometimes used to breed fish that is low in height and wide in length, typically measuring 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 16 inches high, making it and shallower than a typical 40-gallon aquarium.

• breeder on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• breeder reactor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• breeder (cellular automaton) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “breeder n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present

• rebreed

breeder

1. Alternative form of brither

• “brither, n., v.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 23 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.