What does hybridization mean?
Hybridization is the process of combining material from genetically distinct organisms, varieties, species, or lineages to produce a hybrid. It is an important subject in agriculture, animal breeding, botany, and genetics, where crossing can be used to combine useful traits such as disease resistance, higher yields, or adaptability. A mule, produced by crossing a horse and a donkey, is a familiar example of a hybrid, although mules are generally sterile. Outside biology, hybridization has a broader figurative meaning: the fusion or blending of different artistic styles, technologies, traditions, or institutional practices. The word can therefore suggest both deliberate biological intervention and creative synthesis. In general contexts, its connotation depends on whether the combination is regarded as productive and innovative or as an unwanted dilution of distinct traditions.
nounThe process of producing a hybrid by crossing genetically distinct organisms, varieties, species, or lineages. In general use, it also refers to the blending of two or more distinct elements, such as traditions, genres, or technologies.
- The biological process of crossing organisms from genetically distinct varieties, species, or lineages to produce hybrids.
- The broader blending or fusion of distinct elements from different sources.
"Plant hybridization can produce varieties with improved resistance to disease."
"Careful selection and hybridization produced a strain of wheat that resists fungal infection."
"The design became a striking example of hybridization between traditional craft and digital technology."
The plural is used for separate acts or instances of hybridization.
"Controlled hybridizations have made it possible to develop several valuable crop varieties."
A mule is a familiar hybrid: it results from crossing a horse and a donkey but cannot normally reproduce.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hybridization come from?
Hybridization derives from the earlier English word hybrid, meaning an offspring of unlike parents, together with the suffix -ization, which forms a noun denoting a process or action. The word appeared in biological usage during the nineteenth century as controlled crossing became increasingly important in breeding and agriculture. Its development paralleled the verb hybridize, while hybridity names the resulting condition or quality.
Related word forms
How hybridization is actually used
In biology, the term is chiefly used for crossing genetically distinct organisms or lineages. Outside science, it often has a neutral or approving sense when describing the productive blending of different traditions, forms, or technologies, though it can also suggest cultural mixing that some regard as intrusive.
Easily confused with hybridization
A hybrid is the resulting organism or thing, whereas hybridization is the process of producing it.