incubation
American-
The act of warming eggs in order to hatch them, as by a bird sitting upon a clutch of eggs in a nest.
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The act of keeping an organism, a cell, or cell culture in conditions favorable for growth and development.
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The maintenance of an infant, especially one that is ill or born before the usual gestation period, in an environment of controlled temperature, humidity, and oxygen concentration in order to provide optimal conditions for growth and development.
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The development of an infection from the time the pathogen enters the body until signs or symptoms first appear.
Other Word Forms
- incubational adjective
- incubatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of incubation
First recorded in 1605–15, incubation is from the Latin word incubātiōn- (stem of incubātiō ). See incubate, -ion
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.
As the prolonged incubation of the disease made it difficult to track and contain, officials quickly turned to vaccination, the researcher said.
From Barron's
The virus is contagious only when symptoms appear after an incubation period of two to 21 days.
From Barron's
"As these seaweed accumulations grow taller and more widespread, they risk blocking hatchlings entirely, draining their limited energy or leaving them stranded. Beyond impeding movement, sargassum may also reduce nesting space and alter incubation conditions."
From Science Daily
The incubation period can stretch from several days to three weeks.
From BBC
This is the most serious form of the plague and can have an incubation period of just one day.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
