Bread vs. Breed: What's the Difference?

Edited by Huma Saeed || By Sawaira Riaz || Updated on October 11, 2023
Bread is a staple food made from dough, while breed refers to a particular type or lineage of animals or plants or the act of producing offspring.

Key Differences
Bread and breed are two entirely different words in English, each with its own distinct meaning. Bread is primarily understood as a type of food, usually made from wheat, and is a staple in many diets around the world. It can be baked, fried, or steamed and comes in various forms like loaves, buns, or rolls. Breed, on the other hand, is most commonly associated with types or categories of animals, especially in the context of lineage or pedigree.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Additionally, while bread is confined to the realm of nourishment and culinary delights, breed has a broader application. To breed is also a verb, meaning to produce offspring by mating. For example, farmers might breed animals to produce certain desirable traits. Bread doesn't have this verb form.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Moreover, bread can be used metaphorically in language, signifying basic necessities or means of sustenance as in "breadwinner" or "breaking bread." Breed does not share this metaphorical connection to sustenance but can denote characteristics or behaviors thought to be typical of particular groups or types.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
It's essential to recognize the grammatical differences as well. While bread is a noun, breed can function both as a noun and a verb. So, while one might have a slice of bread, one might also breed dogs or discuss the breed of a particular animal.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Comparison Chart
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Bread and Breed Definitions
Bread
A piece of food made from dough.
She ordered a bread basket for the table.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
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Breed
A stock of animals or plants within a species.
The Siamese is a popular cat breed.

Sara Rehman
Oct 11, 2023
Bread
The food that one needs in order to live.
Bread and water are basic necessities.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Bread
A food made from flour, water, and yeast or another leavening agent.
I baked some fresh bread this morning.

Janet White
Oct 11, 2023
Breed
A lineage or strain with shared characteristics.
This dog is of a rare breed.

Sara Rehman
Oct 11, 2023
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Bread
A source of sustenance or livelihood.
He is the breadwinner of the family.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Bread
A staple food made from flour or meal mixed with other dry and liquid ingredients, usually combined with a leavening agent, and kneaded, shaped into loaves, and baked.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To bring about; engender
"Admission of guilt tends to breed public sympathy" (Jonathan Alter).

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Bread
Food in general, regarded as necessary for sustaining life
"If bread is the first necessity of life, recreation is a close second" (Edward Bellamy).

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To cause to reproduce, especially by controlled mating and selection
Breed cattle.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Bread
Something that nourishes; sustenance
"My bread shall be the anguish of my mind" (Edmund Spenser).

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To develop new or improved strains in (organisms), chiefly through controlled mating and selection of offspring for desirable traits.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To rear or train; bring up
A writer who was bred in a seafaring culture.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Bread
A foodstuff made by baking dough made from cereals.
We made sandwiches with the bread we bought from the bakery.
Any leftover bread can be put into the pudding.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
A group of organisms having common ancestors and certain distinguishable characteristics, especially a group within a species developed by artificial selection and maintained by controlled propagation.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
(transitive) To give birth to; to be the native place of.
A pond breeds fish; a northern country breeds stout men

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To keep animals and have them reproduce in a way that improves the next generation’s qualities.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Bread
To cover with bread crumbs, preparatory to cooking; as, breaded cutlets.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To arrange the mating of specific animals.
She wanted to breed her cow to the neighbor's registered bull.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Bread
An article of food made from flour or meal by moistening, kneading, and baking.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To propagate or grow plants trying to give them certain qualities.
He tries to breed blue roses.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Bread
Food; sustenance; support of life, in general.
Give us this day our daily bread.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Bread
Food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To yield or result in.
Disaster breeds famine;
Familiarity breeds contempt

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To be formed in the parent or dam; to be generated, or to grow, like young before birth.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
All animals or plants of the same species or subspecies.
A breed of tulip
A breed of animal

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
(informal) A group of people with shared characteristics.
People who were taught classical Greek and Latin at school are a dying breed.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To produce as offspring; to bring forth; to bear; to procreate; to generate; to beget; to hatch.
Yet every mother breeds not sons alike.
If the sun breed maggots in a dead dog.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To take care of in infancy, and through the age of youth; to bring up; to nurse and foster.
To bring thee forth with pain, with care to breed.
Born and bred on the verge of the wilderness.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To educate; to instruct; to form by education; to train; - sometimes followed by up.
But no care was taken to breed him a Protestant.
His farm may not remove his children too far from him, or the trade he breeds them up in.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To engender; to cause; to occasion; to originate; to produce; as, to breed a storm; to breed disease.
Lest the placeAnd my quaint habits breed astonishment.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To give birth to; to be the native place of; as, a pond breeds fish; a northern country breeds stout men.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To produce or obtain by any natural process.
Children would breed their teeth with less danger.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To bear and nourish young; to reproduce or multiply itself; to be pregnant.
That they breed abundantly in the earth.
The mother had never bred before.
Ant. Is your gold and silver ewes and rams?Shy. I can not tell. I make it breed as fast.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To be formed in the parent or dam; to be generated, or to grow, as young before birth.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To have birth; to be produced or multiplied.
Heavens rain graceOn that which breeds between them.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
To raise a breed; to get progeny.
The kind of animal which you wish to breed from.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
A race or variety of men or other animals (or of plants), perpetuating its special or distinctive characteristics by inheritance.
Twice fifteen thousand hearts of England's breed.
Greyhounds of the best breed.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
Class; sort; kind; - of men, things, or qualities.
Are these the breed of wits so wondered at?
This courtesy is not of the right breed.

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
A special variety of domesticated animals within a species;
He experimented on a particular breed of white rats
He created a new strain of sheep

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
Half-caste offspring of parents of different races (especially of white and Indian parents)

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
Breed
Copulate with a female, used especially of horses;
The horse covers the mare

Sawaira Riaz
Dec 18, 2022
FAQs
What does "breaking bread" mean?
It's a phrase that often means sharing a meal or coming together in peace and fellowship.

Sara Rehman
Oct 11, 2023
Can breed refer to plants as well?
Yes, breed can refer to specific types or strains of plants.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
What's the difference between species and breed?
Species is a broader classification of living organisms, while breed is a specific subgroup within a species.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Does breeding always refer to animals?
No, breeding can refer to both animals and plants.

Sara Rehman
Oct 11, 2023
Can conditions or environments breed certain outcomes?
Yes, metaphorically, conditions can "breed" or lead to specific results or behaviors.

Sara Rehman
Oct 11, 2023
What does "rare breed" mean?
It refers to something uncommon or unique, often used metaphorically.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Are bread and pastry the same?
No, while both are baked goods, pastry is often sweeter and has different ingredients.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Is bread always eaten as is?
No, bread can be toasted, buttered, used in sandwiches, or served with dips.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Are all breeds the result of intentional breeding?
No, some breeds develop naturally over time.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Can bread be considered a universal food?
While many cultures have some form of bread, the ingredients and preparation methods vary.

Aimie Carlson
Oct 11, 2023
Can bread also mean money?
Informally, yes. In slang, "bread" can refer to money.

Harlon Moss
Oct 11, 2023
Is bread always made from wheat?
No, bread can be made from various grains like rye, barley, and corn.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Can breeding be a professional occupation?
Yes, there are professional breeders who specialize in producing specific breeds of animals.

Harlon Moss
Oct 11, 2023
Can bread be made without yeast?
Yes, there are unleavened breads that don't require yeast.

Aimie Carlson
Oct 11, 2023
Can the word breed be used as both a noun and a verb?
Yes, you can refer to a type of animal as a breed (noun) or the act of reproduction as breeding (verb).

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
What does "purebred" mean?
It refers to an animal whose parents are of the same breed.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Is flatbread truly flat?
Generally, yes. Flatbread is typically thinner and doesn't rise as much as other bread.

Sara Rehman
Oct 11, 2023
Is sourdough a type of bread?
Yes, sourdough is bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild yeast.

Aimie Carlson
Oct 11, 2023
Is bread gluten-free?
Regular bread contains gluten, but there are gluten-free varieties available.

Sawaira Riaz
Oct 11, 2023
Why do people breed animals?
Reasons include producing specific traits, for competitions, preserving a breed, or economic reasons.

Aimie Carlson
Oct 11, 2023
About Author
Written by
Sawaira RiazSawaira is a dedicated content editor at difference.wiki, where she meticulously refines articles to ensure clarity and accuracy. With a keen eye for detail, she upholds the site's commitment to delivering insightful and precise content.

Edited by
Huma SaeedHuma is a renowned researcher acclaimed for her innovative work in Difference Wiki. Her dedication has led to key breakthroughs, establishing her prominence in academia. Her contributions continually inspire and guide her field.
