hybrid

The word “hybrid” means the offspring produced by crossing two different species, breeds, or varieties. In plain terms, something (or someone) that combines two different types into one.

“Hybrid” is pronounced HEYE-brihd (/ˈhaɪ.bɹɪd/ in IPA).

Here is “hybrid” used in a sentence: “A mule is a hybrid of a horse and a donkey.”

Words with a similar meaning to “hybrid” include cross, cross-breed, melding, mixling and mongrel.

Depending on how it is used, “hybrid” can be a noun and an adjective.

The word “hybrid” comes from Latin. From Latin hybrida, originally meaning the offspring of a domestic pig and a wild boar — a word for "mixed-breed" animal that later broadened to cover anything of mixed origin.

“Hybrid” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Hybrid” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the offspring produced by crossing two different species, breeds, or varieties.

Crossbreed usually refers specifically to the offspring of two different breeds or varieties, especially of animals or plants, while hybrid is broader and can also mean anything made by combining two different things. All crossbreeds are hybrids, but not all hybrids are crossbreeds.

A hybrid car combines two power sources, typically a petrol or diesel engine and an electric motor, to gain the benefits of both. It is an everyday example of the broader sense of hybrid: something made by combining two different things.

Many hybrids, such as the mule (a cross between a horse and a donkey), are infertile and cannot reproduce, though some hybrids can. Fertility largely depends on how closely related the two parent species are.

Hybrid works as both: as a noun it names the crossed offspring or combination ('the plant is a hybrid'), and as a modifier it describes something combining two things ('a hybrid approach').