If you say that somewhere is a hotbedof an undesirable activity, you are emphasizing that a lot of the activity is going on there or being started there.
[emphasis]
...a state now known worldwide as a hotbed of racial intolerance. [+ of]
Synonyms: breeding ground, nest, den More Synonyms of hotbed
hotbed in British English
(ˈhɒtˌbɛd)
noun
1.
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
hotbed in American English
(ˈhɑtˌbɛd)
noun
1.
a bed of earth covered with glass and heated by manure, electricity, etc. for forcing plants
2.
any place that fosters rapid growth or extensive activity
Examples of 'hotbed' in a sentence
hotbed
It has a reputation as a hotbed of radicalism.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The web has become a hotbed of.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It has become a political hotbed and defeats its very purpose.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It has become a hotbed of ferment in which change is constant and potentially terrifying.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But it was also a hotbed of intrigue.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The plant is not a hotbed of union activity.
The Sun (2016)
It was a hotbed of ideas.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The school lunchbox isn't renowned as a hotbed of gastronomic creativity.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It's not a hotbed of cinematic activity.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
By the end of March the Balkans had become a hotbed of turmoil.
Martin Allen THE HITLER-HESS DECEPTION (2003)
Already fertile ground for extremist groups, Greece would become a hotbed of popular fury.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Healthcare A hotbed of innovation as firms search for the next life-changing drug or ways to improve disease detection.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
(noun)
Definition
a place offering ideal conditions for the growth of an idea or activity
a hotbed of young talent
Synonyms
breeding ground
nest
Biarritz was notorious in those days as a nest of spies.
den
Additional synonyms
in the sense of nest
Biarritz was notorious in those days as a nest of spies.