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
Synonyms
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
Those schools were, according to former pupils, hotbeds of cruelty and child abuse — an independent investigation in 2005 found evidence of criminal assault at the boys’ school in the 1970s and ’80s — as well as highly traditionalist values.
—
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Pakistani counterterrorist forces maintain a strong presence in the Swat valley, which has long been a hotbed of Islamist militant insurgency.
—Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC News, 22 Sep. 2024
Congaree is also a hotbed of woodpecker activity, with all eight southern species found in the park.
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 16 Sep. 2024
Zoom in: The growth has made Atlanta a hotbed for the industry, but the data centers' fortress-like size and form conflict with using space for housing, parks and other active uses.
—Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hotbed 
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Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Pakistani counterterrorist forces maintain a strong presence in the Swat valley, which has long been a hotbed of Islamist militant insurgency.
—Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC News, 22 Sep. 2024
Congaree is also a hotbed of woodpecker activity, with all eight southern species found in the park.
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 16 Sep. 2024
Zoom in: The growth has made Atlanta a hotbed for the industry, but the data centers' fortress-like size and form conflict with using space for housing, parks and other active uses.
—Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hotbed
Dictionary Entries Near hotbed
Cite this Entry
“Hotbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hotbed. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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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