Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

interbreed

[in-ter-breed] / ˌɪn tərˈbrid /




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Even though different species can still interbreed, these inversions limit how much their DNA mixes, helping maintain distinct traits.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 1, 2026

Even if breeding succeeds, it can lead to infertile offspring, such as mules, or to the two species gradually merging into one as they interbreed over generations.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 17, 2024

These two broods may actually overlap — but probably not interbreed — in a small area near central Illinois, entomologists said.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2024

Barred owls and northern spotted owls are closely related and can even interbreed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024

But if wild populations with variations in genotype keep interbreeding, Dobzhansky knew, a new species would never be formed: a species, after all, is fundamentally defined by its inability to interbreed with another.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Gavæus frontalis interbreeds freely with domesticated cattle of all kinds.

From Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Robert Armitage Sterndale

Some naturalists would separate them from the other cats, but the connection is supplied by the last species which, though possessing certain features of the lynx, yet interbreeds with the true cats.

From Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Robert Armitage Sterndale

It interbreeds in Siberia with C. caniceps, an East Siberian form.

From The History of the European Fauna by Robert Francis Scharff

In 2010 scientists reconstructed the Neanderthal genome -- blockbuster research that allowed for analysis making clear that the species interbred.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

Those first modern humans that had interbred with Neanderthals and lived alongside them died out completely in Europe 40,000 years ago - but not before their offspring had spread further out into the world.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2024

This means Thorin's genome was full of the variants one usually sees with recent inbreeding, a striking feature given other modern humans lived nearby with whom Thorin's Neanderthal community could have interbred.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2024

Between 2009 and 2018, the researchers interbred the butterflies and recorded how traits such as wing shape and the chemical makeup of sex pheromones changed in the resulting offspring.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 17, 2024

They interbred with the Slavs and adopted a Slavic language and many Slavic customs, but they retained enough individuality to remain readily identifiable.

From Area Handbook for Bulgaria by Violeta D. Baluyut

Yet the genomes of living people also contained signs of much older episodes of interbreeding.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

"Because the two species were capable of producing offspring together, their interactions were likely complex, involving competition, occasional interbreeding and other subtle population dynamics."

From Science Daily ● Apr. 28, 2026

But over hundreds of millennia, human migrations resulted in interbreeding, researchers say.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

The earlier timeline means that the three species of humans co-existed on the planet for around 800,000 years, much longer than previously thought, perhaps interacting and interbreeding in that time.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2025

But if wild populations with variations in genotype keep interbreeding, Dobzhansky knew, a new species would never be formed: a species, after all, is fundamentally defined by its inability to interbreed with another.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee




Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Just like flashcards, but way more fun

Don't take our word for it. Leave the boring studying behind and join VocabTrainer today. You'll learn even faster and never look back.

Take me to Vocabulary.com