domesticate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
verb
-
to bring or keep (wild animals or plants) under control or cultivation
-
to accustom to home life
-
to adapt to an environment
to domesticate foreign trees
Other Word Forms
- domesticable adjective
- domestication noun
- domesticative adjective
- domesticator noun
- nondomesticated adjective
- nondomesticating adjective
- overdomesticate verb (used with object)
- undomesticable adjective
- undomesticated adjective
- well-domesticated adjective
Etymology
Origin of domesticate
First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin domesticātus (past participle of domesticāre ), equivalent to domestic- domestic + -ātus -ate 1
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.
T1 and Canadian Solar have made particularly big strides in the last couple of months to fully domesticate their supply chains so they can take advantage of the government subsidies.
From Barron's
Leopard cats did not become domesticated and continue to live wild across Asia.
From BBC
I can't say that my own stubborn, disobedient terrier provides me with any of the benefits that the first domesticated wolves bestowed on our ancestors.
From BBC
"Corn was domesticated in Central America and has only been in this area for a few thousand years."
From Science Daily
Wild donkeys are descended from domesticated donkeys left behind by California gold miners more than a century ago.
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.
