incubate

American  

[in-kyuh-beyt, ing-] / ˈɪn kyəˌbeɪt, ˈɪŋ- /

verb (used with object)

incubated, incubating

1. to sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching.

2. to hatch (eggs), as by sitting upon them or by artificial heat.

3. to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants.

4. to develop or produce as if by hatching; give form to.

   His brain was incubating schemes for raising money.

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verb (used without object)

incubated, incubating

1. to sit upon eggs.

2. to undergo incubation.

3. to develop; grow; take form.

   A plan was slowly incubating in her mind.

incubate British  

/ ˈɪnkjʊˌbeɪt /

verb

1. (of birds) to supply (eggs) with heat for their development, esp by sitting on them

2. to cause (eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop, esp in an incubator or culture medium

3. (intr) (of eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop in favourable conditions, esp in an incubator

4. (intr) (of disease germs) to remain inactive in an animal or human before causing disease

5. to develop or cause to develop gradually; foment or be fomented

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Other Word Forms

• incubation noun
• incubational adjective
• incubative adjective
• unincubated adjective

Etymology

Origin of incubate

First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin incubātus, past participle of incubāre “to lie or recline on, to sit on (eggs),” equivalent to in- “in” + cub(āre) “to sit, lie down” + -ātus past participle suffix; in- ², -ate ¹. incumbent, concubine

Example Sentences

Blessed with natural athleticism, Malinin has also been incubated in the perfect training environment.

From BBC

It’s not clear why the doting parents were both absent, “but we are sure they had their reasons as they have been incubating the eggs faithfully,” the nonprofit wrote in its “Eagle Log.”

From Los Angeles Times

Jackie and Shadow will now take turns carefully incubating the egg for the next 35 days or so, ensuring it is kept warm and safe.

From Los Angeles Times

For decades, Greenland quietly incubated one of the last of the anticolonial movements chipping away at an old European empire.

From The Wall Street Journal

To address that gap, Huss and colleagues compared two sets of bacterial E. coli samples infected with a phage known as T7 -- one set incubated on Earth and the other aboard the International Space Station.

From Science Daily