hotbed
/ˈhɒtbed/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhɑːtbed/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈhät-ˌbed/ (ame, mw)
hotbed — noun
1. a place or group where some kind of activity, usually a harmful or troubling one
a place or group where some kind of activity, usually a harmful or troubling one, grows quickly and spreads widely
The old port district became a hotbed of smuggling during the war.
pattern: hotbed of + activity noun
Tendai warned that the unregulated forum was turning into a hotbed of misinformation.
common collocate: hotbed of misinformation / extremism
Silicon Valley has long been seen as a hotbed for tech startups and venture capital.
Critics argued the prison had become a hotbed of gang recruitment.
After the protests, the university was branded a hotbed of political dissent.
- breeding ground
very close in meaning; slightly more common in everyday journalism
- hub
neutral or positive; lacks the warning tone of 'hotbed'
- haven
suggests a safe place that shelters the activity, often illegal
文法句型
hotbed of + noun
a hotbed for + noun
用法筆記
Almost always followed by 'of' (or sometimes 'for') plus a noun naming the activity. Subject is typically a place, institution, or group — not a single person. Carries a critical or warning tone when the activity is negative.
常見錯誤
2. a small garden frame, glass-topped and warmed from underneath, that gardeners us
a small garden frame, glass-topped and warmed from underneath, that gardeners use to give young plants an early start in spring
Camila grows her tomato seedlings in a hotbed near the kitchen window.
pattern: grow / start [plants] in a hotbed
The old farmer built a small wooden hotbed at the edge of the vegetable patch.
Each spring, Liang fills the hotbed with fresh compost to warm the soil from below.
Garden books from the 1950s often explain how to heat a hotbed using horse manure.
- cold frame
similar small glass-covered structure, but unheated
- seedbed
any bed used for starting seedlings; not necessarily heated or covered
文法句型
in a hotbed
build a hotbed
用法筆記
A specialist gardening term, rarely used in everyday speech. Distinguish from sense 1 by context: sense 2 always refers to a physical structure in a garden, while sense 1 is metaphorical.