noun
hotbed
noun
1
A place or situation where something, especially something undesirable, develops quickly and intensely.
"The old warehouse district became a hotbed of crime."
"The university was a hotbed of political activism in the 1960s."
How to Use Hotbed
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA place where something, usually trouble or a movement, grows and spreads quickly.
Common pairings
hotbed of crime
hotbed of activity
hotbed of controversy
Word Forms
hotbeds plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “hotbed”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The old warehouse district became a _____ of crime.
Etymology
Originally a literal gardening term for a bed of soil heated by rotting manure to help seeds sprout early; the figurative sense of "breeding ground" grew from that image.