Word.ws English Dictionary

thoroughbreed

thoroughbreed noun: a breed of unadulterated or pure lineage. Also the alternative form of thoroughbred.

Noun

thoroughbreed (plural thoroughbreeds)

  1. A breed of unadulterated or pure lineage.
    • No particular breed of cattle can be said to exist in this district: milk being the main object of the farmer, he does not consider any thoroughbreed particularly advantageous for that purpose; […]1844, The Farmer's Magazine, page 321
    • SIR:—I have, at this moment, received from Dr. Eben Wight, the account of the stock of cattle known, in this vicinity, as the Jamestown. It is a cross between two thoroughbreeds — the Suffolk (no horned) on the part of the female, and the Jersey on the part of the male.1868, Annual Report of the Secretary - Volume 15, Part 1867, page 159

Also used as

thoroughbreed is also the alternative form of thoroughbred.

Examples of thoroughbreed in a sentence

  • […] that all the progeny would have large berries and large clusters, and thus far [form?] a purebreed or thoroughbreed, of the “in and in bred” type would be secured.1899, Bulletin - Texas Agricultural Experiment Station:
  • Ellerslie is the most noted of modern Virginia thoroughbreed breeding establishments, and Eon, who was bred there, is one of the grandest looking thoroughbred stallions ever stripped.1903, The Southern Planter, volume 64, page 457:

Forms of thoroughbreed

pluralthoroughbreeds
alternative formthorough-breed

Origin of thoroughbreed

From thorough + breed.

Questions about thoroughbreed

What does thoroughbreed mean?
Thoroughbreed means a breed of unadulterated or pure lineage.
How do you use thoroughbreed in a sentence?
[…] that all the progeny would have large berries and large clusters, and thus far [form?] a purebreed or thoroughbreed, of the “in and in bred” type would be secured.
What part of speech is thoroughbreed?
Thoroughbreed is a noun.
What is the plural of thoroughbreed?
The plural of thoroughbreed is thoroughbreeds.

Words near thoroughbreed in the dictionary

  1. thoroughbrace
  2. thoroughbraces
  3. thoroughbred
  4. thoroughbredness
  5. thoroughbreds
  6. thoroughbreed
  7. thoroughbreeds
  8. thorougher
  9. thoroughest
  10. thoroughfare
  11. thoroughfarer

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: thoroughbreed (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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