hotbed

[ hot-bed ]
/ ˈhɒtˌbɛd /

noun

a bottomless, boxlike, usually glass-covered structure and the bed of earth it covers, heated typically by fermenting manure or electrical cables, for growing plants out of season.
a place or environment favoring rapid growth or spread, especially of something disliked or unwanted: a hotbed of disease.
Slang. a bed shared by two or more persons in shifts, each sleeping in it for or at a designated time and then vacating it for the next occupant.

verb (used without object), hot·bed·ded, hot·bed·ding.

Slang. to share a bed in shifts, so that it is always occupied.

Origin of hotbed

First recorded in 1620–30; hot + bed

Example sentences from the Web for hotbed

British Dictionary definitions for hotbed

hotbed
/ (ˈhɒtˌbɛd) /

noun

a glass-covered bed of soil, usually heated by fermenting material, used for propagating plants, forcing early vegetables, etc
a place offering ideal conditions for the growth of an idea, activity, etc, esp one considered bad a hotbed of insurrection