Thoroughbred
adj, noun ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of Thoroughbred (“horse bred for racing”). alt-of
"A CNN analysis of disciplinary records found that the top earning trainers in the sport – whose thoroughbreds win them millions of dollars – have all broken rules meant to keep their horses safe. Trainers slapped with violations have continued racing, pocketing winnings while paying minimal fines. […] During the 2018-2019 season, a staggering 56 horses died at one of the most glamorous racetracks in the country, Santa Anita Park, once home to the famous 1940s thoroughbred Seabiscuit."
- 2 A horse of a breed derived from crosses between Arabian stallions and English mares, bred for racing, with its breeding history recorded in an official stud book.
"He wanted to be at the white-hot center of equine sport, to become a jockey, to be able to feel the thrust and power of a Thoroughbred in its ultimate competition: racing flat out, surging to the head of the herd."
- 3 a pedigreed animal of unmixed lineage; used especially of horses wordnet
- 4 Any purebred horse. broadly
- 5 a racehorse belonging to a breed that originated from a cross between Arabian stallions and English mares wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A person of uncommon strength or endurance (like that of a thoroughbred horse).
"That athlete is a real thoroughbred."
- 7 a well-bred person wordnet
- 8 A well-bred person.
- 1 Bred from pure stock.
- 2 Well-bred and properly educated.
- 1 having a list of ancestors as proof of being a purebred animal wordnet
Example
More examples""I assure you that I have not associated you with the crime, Colonel," said he. "The real murderer is standing immediately behind you." He stepped past and laid his hand upon the glossy neck of the thoroughbred. "The horse!" cried both the Colonel and myself."
Etymology
From thorough + bred.
Related phrases
More for "thoroughbred"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.