hotbed

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hot·bed

(hŏt′bĕd′)

1. An environment conducive to vigorous growth or development, especially of something undesirable: a hotbed of intrigue.

2. A bed of soil that is covered with glass, fiberglass, or plastic, is heated with fermenting manure or by electricity, and is used for germinating seeds or protecting tender plants.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hotbed

(ˈhɒtˌbɛd)

1. (Botany) a glass-covered bed of soil, usually heated by fermenting material, used for propagating plants, forcing early vegetables, etc

2. a place offering ideal conditions for the growth of an idea, activity, etc, esp one considered bad: a hotbed of insurrection.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hot•bed

(ˈhɒtˌbɛd)

n.

1. a boxlike glass structure covering a bed of earth that is heated by electric cables or fermenting manure, for growing plants out of season.

2. a place or environment favoring rapid growth or spread, esp. of something unwanted.

[1620–30]

Hotbed

A heated bed of soil used for early planting of vegetables. Heating was usually from buried decaying animal waste.

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Noun	1.	hotbed - a situation that is ideal for rapid development (especially of something bad); "it was a hotbed of vice" situation, state of affairs - the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time; "the present international situation is dangerous"; "wondered how such a state of affairs had come about"; "eternal truths will be neither true nor eternal unless they have fresh meaning for every new social situation"- Franklin D.Roosevelt
	2.	hotbed - a bed of earth covered with glass and heated by rotting manure to promote the growth of plants bed - a plot of ground in which plants are growing; "the gardener planted a bed of roses"

hotbed

noun breeding ground, nest, den a hotbed of racial intolerance

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

focolaio

hotbed

[ˈhɒtbed] N (fig) → semillero m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

hotbed

[ˈhɒtbɛd] n → foyer m
a hotbed of sth → un foyer de qch
the university is a hotbed of political activity → l'université est un foyer d'activité politiquehot-blooded [ˌhɒtˈblʌdɪd] adj (= passionate) → passionné(e)hot chocolate n → chocolat m chaud

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

hotbed

[ˈhɒtˌbɛd] n (fig) → focolaio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in classic literature ?

The only course that seemed to him in any way satisfactory in this his hour of rejuvenation was to visit the bee farm, the hotbed of crime, and keep an eye on it.

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A dismal swamp, on which the half-built houses rot away: cleared here and there for the space of a few yards; and teeming, then, with rank unwholesome vegetation, in whose baleful shade the wretched wanderers who are tempted hither, droop, and die, and lay their bones; the hateful Mississippi circling and eddying before it, and turning off upon its southern course a slimy monster hideous to behold; a hotbed of disease, an ugly sepulchre, a grave uncheered by any gleam of promise: a place without one single quality, in earth or air or water, to commend it: such is this dismal Cairo.

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Even then I realized the possibilities of my suburb, that hotbed of revolution in which heroes, inventors, and practical men of science, rogues and scoundrels, virtues and vices, were all packed together by poverty, stifled by necessity, drowned in drink, and consumed by ardent spirits.

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He had therefore, with great care and patience, and by dint of strenuous exertions, laid out near his house at Dort a garden fit for the culture of his cherished flower; he had mixed the soil according to the most approved prescriptions, and given to his hotbeds just as much heat and fresh air as the strictest rules of horticulture exact.

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"It really is a hotbed here!" Sotto tweeted in Filipino.

Robredo volunteers to give advice to Mayor-elect Vico Sotto

Doctorate candidates reportedly pay Pound 2,000 (Sh264,000) to Pound 6,000 for dissertations."Kenya is the hotbed where the writing happens.

Magoha orders probe of local universities' PhDs amid quality concerns

Jimenez asked Frivaldo to confirm or deny President Rodrigo Duterte's statement that Naga City - bailiwick of Vice President Leni Robredo, who used to represent the city in Congress - is a hotbed of shabu.

Is Naga City a 'hotbed' of illegal drugs? Bicol law enforcers confirm but..

And while they may not provide proof of extraterrestrial hotbed of potential UFO sightings over years...

The UFO sightings reported to police

Mr Owen said: "This commitment by Deloitte reflects the confidence we have in Belfast as a great place to do business and a hotbed of talent, particularly for graduates and schoolleavers.

JOBS JOY AS 500 POSTS ARE CREATED; Deloitte to expand its Belfast offices

Beyond that Teesside IS a hotbed anyway, in the sense of an area that nurtures raw talent and passion for the game.

Our hotbed glows brightly in the flames of passion; FOOTBALL

Erdogan said that "neighboring country experiencing devastation and human tragedy," adding that "the tragedy in Syria, and the actual division in Iraq, did not affect the lives of millions of innocent people only, but also turned the region into a hotbed of instability."

-Solving Iraq's Crisis Is To Establish a System Ensures Sharing Power and Prosperity In Just, Comprehensive And Balanced

According to the RSS, Uttarakhand turned into the hotbed of conversion after it was carved out as a separate state from Uttar Pradesh.