Incubate
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈɪŋkjʊbeɪt/ · Part of speech verb
Quick meaning: Incubate is a verb meaning (transitive) To brood, raise, or maintain eggs, organisms, or living tissue through the provision of ideal environmental conditions.
Meaning
(transitive) To brood, raise, or maintain eggs, organisms, or living tissue through the provision of ideal environmental conditions.
More Meanings
- (transitive, figurative) To incubate metaphorically; to ponder an idea slowly and deliberately as if in preparation for hatching it.
- (biology or chemistry) A preparation, or material, that has been incubated.
Example Sentences
When you've got your theme–let the concept incubate. Walk around with it, sleep on it.
The female cichlid fish are called "mouth breeders," which means they incubate eggs in their mouth.
The mother dead these fourteen years did incubate in her own bosom the creature who would carry her off.
It was a habit he developed, of incubating and maturing his thought upon a subject, and of then rushing into the type-writer with it.
Word Forms
- incubates
- incubating
- incubated
Synonyms for incubate
Depending on context, synonyms include brood, cover, hatch.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include brood, cover, hatch, fester, incubator, cap.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.