What does "hotbed" mean?

A low bed of earth covered with glass, and heated with rotting manure, used for the germination of seeds and the growth of tender plants, like a miniature hothouse.

What is a synonym for "hotbed"?

Common synonyms include: birthplace, breeding place, brooder, cloche, cold frame, conservatory.

Hotbed

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A low bed of earth covered with glass, and heated with rotting manure, used for the germination of seeds and the growth of tender plants, like a miniature hothouse.
"Near-synonym: hotbox"
2
a bed of earth covered with glass and heated by rotting manure to promote the growth of plants wordnet
3
An environment that is ideal for the growth or development of something, especially of something undesirable. broadly
"The problem faced by Government and railway alike is the dreadful legacy of the 'stay home' policy which has left millions of people fearing that trains are a hotbed of infection to be avoided like the... well, do I have to say it?!"
4
a situation that is ideal for rapid development (especially of something bad) wordnet
5
An iron platform in a rolling mill, on which hot bars, rails, etc., are laid to cool.

Synonyms

All synonyms

birthplace breeding place brooder cloche cold frame conservatory

Example

More examples

"The Alpine town of Ischgl in Austria has become a hotbed for the virus."

Etymology

From hot + bed.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.