- past tense form of domesticate.
- past participle of domesticate.
domesticated
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Domesticated means trained to live or work for humans, i.e. pets and farm animals. For centuries humans have believe that dogs are domesticated wolves, but DNA testing reveals that they are in fact a different species. Domesticated comes from domus, the Latin word for home, which is easy to remember — instead of a "roof over our heads" think of your "home as a dome." Domus gives us not only domesticated (adapted to the home or the farm), but also domestic (cooking and cleaning are "domestic" chores), a domestic (someone like a maid who works inside a home as a paid employee), and domicile (a building that serves as a home). Thus domesticated means an animal tamed to live in your home — or, as some women like to joke, a man.
Vocabulary lists containing domesticated
Dog Vocabulary: A Canine Lexicon
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Cat Vocabulary: A Feline Lexicon
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Such contradictions, that cats can be both domesticated and yet somewhat feral, is part of their appeal, says comedian Drennon Davis, whose four cats have found internet fame via his short-form videos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Honestly, I respect her autonomy in that regard, and I can pick up what she’s putting down . . . even a domesticated dog is cooler than a dragon.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
Dusky farmerfish in East Asia grow “crops” of red algae by assiduously “weeding out less palatable foods” and have effectively domesticated a type of shrimp whose waste fertilizes the algae and boosts yields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
The scientists detected Y. pestis DNA in the remains of a domesticated sheep that lived about 4,000 years ago.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
Following Homo sapiens, domesticated cattle, pigs and sheep are the second, third and fourth most widespread large mammals in the world.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
