1
: a bed of soil enclosed in glass, heated especially by fermenting manure, and used for forcing or for raising seedlings
2
: an environment that favors rapid growth or development
a hotbed of activity
Examples of hotbed in a Sentence
a hotbed of political unrest
prerevolutionary Boston was viewed as a hotbed of treason by the British
Recent Examples on the Web
The 1995 Oscars were a hotbed of another kind of cringe when viewed through a 2021 lens, with the slate including Toy Story writers John Lasseter (third row, tenth from right) and Joss Whedon (back row, tenth from right) and Best Supporting Actor winner Kevin Spacey (second row, eighth from left).
—
Zach Schonfeld, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
The Roosevelt Hotel was recently the subject of White House ire, as the feds attempted to justify an $80 million retraction of FEMA funds with unsupported claims that the hotel was a hotbed of international gang activity.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025
Arsenal has earned a reputation for being a hotbed of young talent with Saka homegrown and Myles Lewis-Skelly the latest to come through the club’s youth system.
—Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
Built in the 1960s, the townhome complex near 42nd Street and Post Road devolved into a hotbed for drug dealing and crime in recent years, in part because of mismanagement by prior homeowners association leaders, the city says.
—Jordan Smith, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hotbed
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Zach Schonfeld, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
The Roosevelt Hotel was recently the subject of White House ire, as the feds attempted to justify an $80 million retraction of FEMA funds with unsupported claims that the hotel was a hotbed of international gang activity.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025
Arsenal has earned a reputation for being a hotbed of young talent with Saka homegrown and Myles Lewis-Skelly the latest to come through the club’s youth system.
—Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
Built in the 1960s, the townhome complex near 42nd Street and Post Road devolved into a hotbed for drug dealing and crime in recent years, in part because of mismanagement by prior homeowners association leaders, the city says.
—Jordan Smith, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hotbed
Cite this Entry
“Hotbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hotbed. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hotbed
noun
hot·bed
ˈhät-ˌbed 
1
: a heated bed of soil enclosed in glass and used for growing seedlings
2
: an environment that favors rapid growth or development
a hotbed of innovation
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