incorporation

American  

[in-kawr-puh-rey-shuhn] / ɪnˌkɔr pəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• incorporations
  plural

1. the act of incorporating or the state of being incorporated.

2. the act of forming a legal corporation.

3. Grammar. the inclusion of the object or object reference within the inflected verb form, a type of word-formation frequent in American Indian languages.

4. Psychoanalysis. the adoption of the views or characteristics of others, occurring in children as part of learning and maturation and in adults as a defense mechanism.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interincorporation
  noun
• preincorporation
  noun
• reincorporation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• incorporations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of incorporation

1350–1400; Middle English incorporacioun < Late Latin incorporātiōn- (stem of incorporātiō ), equivalent to incorporāt ( us ) ( see incorporate ¹) + -iōn -ion

Explanation

Incorporation is making something part of a whole. The incorporation of egg yolks into a hot liquid must be done slowly so the eggs don't curdle. Incorporation can also refer to making a company a legal corporation, and the "Inc." after many company names stands for "Incorporated." If you're starting a new business, you should look into the laws regarding incorporation in your state, to see if incorporating would make sense for you. When territory is acquired and taken into a larger body, that's also incorporation. The incorporation of your small neighborhood park into the county parks system will help preserve it as a green space.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incorporation incorporations

The company’s 2005 incorporation documents don’t include her name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

California incorporation records with the secretary of state on Saturday showed no such entity has yet been created.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

Ireland's statistics office, the CSO, said Thursday the exceptional revision was due to the incorporation of data related to multinational companies, which carry significant weight in the Irish economy.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Since city capybaras are there to stay, Ibama recommends fences, river cleanup, and “the incorporation of wildlife into urban planning.”

From Slate ● May 27, 2026

When a major fire ravaged the old wooden town, he helped to found the Massachusetts Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and his name was first to appear on its charter of incorporation.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

But even before thinking about those literal incorporations of music, Hannah had to find the more ethereal vibe or spirit of the show itself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2022

Moving smoothly among elements, genres, and incorporations of various media has a powerful impact on how your audience experiences your composition.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

Between April and June 2021, there were 190,639 new incorporations and 115,554 dissolutions in the UK.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2021

Mossack Fonseca adroitly shifted incorporations from Panama to the BVI, which exploded as an offshore centre.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 8, 2016

The poll tax was out of all reason; property paid 4 per cent. on an actual valuation; theatres, bankers, brokers, freight, miners, merchants, hotel, keepers, incorporations, every form of industry was levied upon heavily.

From The Gray Dawn by Stewart Edward White

Related Words

• unification
• unionization