domesticate

[ duh-mes-ti-keyt ]

/ dəˈmɛs tɪˌkeɪt /

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See synonyms for: domesticate / domesticated / domestication on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.

to convert (animals, plants, etc.) to domestic uses; tame.

to tame (an animal), especially by generations of breeding, to live in close association with human beings as a pet or work animal and usually creating a dependency so that the animal loses its ability to live in the wild.

to adapt (a plant) so as to be cultivated by and beneficial to human beings.

to accustom to household life or affairs.

to take (something foreign, unfamiliar, etc.) for one's own use or purposes; adopt.

to make more ordinary, familiar, acceptable, or the like: to domesticate radical ideas.

verb (used without object), do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.

to be domestic.

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Origin of domesticate

First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin domesticātus (past participle of domesticāre ), equivalent to domestic- domestic + -ātus -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM domesticate

do·mes·ti·ca·ble

[duh-mes-ti-kuh-buhl], /dəˈmɛs tɪ kə bəl/, adjectivedo·mes·ti·ca·tion

[duh-mes-ti-key-shuhn], /dəˌmɛs tɪˈkeɪ ʃən/, noundo·mes·ti·ca·tive, adjectivedo·mes·ti·ca·tor, noun

non·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjectivenon·do·mes·ti·cat·ing, adjectiveo·ver·do·mes·ti·cate, verb (used with object), o·ver·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, o·ver·do·mes·ti·cat·ing.un·do·mes·ti·ca·ble, adjectiveun·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjectivewell-do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjective

Words nearby domesticate

Dome of the Rock, domesday, Domesday Book, domestic, domestic animal, domesticate, domestication, domestic court, domestic fowl, domesticity, domestic partner

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use domesticate in a sentence

Even weirder, the source of these proteins relies on viral genes domesticated eons ago by our own genome through evolution.
Surprise! Our Bodies Have Been Hiding a Trojan Horse for Gene Therapy|Shelly Fan|August 24, 2021|Singularity Hub
Unlike their domesticated counterparts, the wolf puppies spent 12 to 24 hours a day in human care from about 10 days after birth up to and throughout the testing period.
Puppies beat out young wolves in one important skill|Monroe Hammond|July 26, 2021|Popular-Science
Until now, SibFox was the closest anyone in the US had gotten to receiving a domesticated fox.
Can I have a pet fox?|empire|July 1, 2021|Popular-Science
In fact, dogs are such great friends that humans probably domesticated them not once, but twice.
Let’s learn about dogs|Bethany Brookshire|May 4, 2021|Science News For Students

In those boxes lay samples from 148 species and 41 genera of domesticated plants collected from 109 countries.
The Botanist Who Defied Stalin - Issue 99: Universality|Lee Alan Dugatkin|April 21, 2021|Nautilus
Humans spent a long time domesticating cattle, and what they were trying to do, in essence, was de-domesticate them.
‘Nazi Cows’ Tried to Kill British Farmer|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As Sandra Bullock has found out, any attempt to domesticate them will end in a resounding failure.
Enough with the Overalls!|Sean Macaulay|April 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
By marginalizing certain political tendencies, the European approach makes it harder to domesticate them.
How Glenn Beck Saves Lives|Reihan Salam|June 19, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I know a pretty woman from a plain one, I hope, even though I dont personally want to domesticate the recording angel.
The Romance of His Life|Mary Cholmondeley
The hunter is thought to have been seized, one fine day, with an impulse to domesticate animals instead of hunting them.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt
His place was well named for he was a great horticulturist, the first to domesticate the Catawba grape.
A Portrait of Old George Town|Grace Dunlop Ecker
They have now begun to domesticate certain species of Meliponas, by introducing them into earthen pots or wooden cases.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier
They seem somewhat like the buffalo and other wild animals that we have never been able to domesticate.
Seventy Years on the Frontier|Alexander Majors

British Dictionary definitions for domesticate

domesticate

sometimes US domesticize (dəˈmɛstɪˌsaɪz)

/ (dəˈmɛstɪˌkeɪt) /

verb (tr)

to bring or keep (wild animals or plants) under control or cultivation

to accustom to home life

to adapt to an environmentto domesticate foreign trees

Derived forms of domesticate

domesticable, adjectivedomestication, noundomesticative, adjectivedomesticator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

domesticate

Origin of domesticate

OTHER WORDS FROM domesticate

Words nearby domesticate

Words related to domesticate

How to use domesticate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for domesticate

sometimes US domesticize (dəˈmɛstɪˌsaɪz)

Derived forms of domesticate