incorporate
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to form into a legal corporation.
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to put or introduce into a body or mass as an integral part or parts.
to incorporate revisions into a text.
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to take in or include as a part or parts, as the body or a mass does.
His book incorporates his earlier essay.
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to form or combine into one body or uniform substance, as ingredients.
- Synonyms:
- personify, amalgamate, mix, blend, assimilate, absorb
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His book incorporates all his thinking on the subject.
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to form into a society or organization.
verb (used without object)
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to form a legal corporation.
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to unite or combine so as to form one body.
adjective
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legally incorporated, as a company.
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combined into one body, mass, or substance.
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Archaic. embodied.
adjective
verb
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to include or be included as a part or member of a united whole
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to form or cause to form a united whole or mass; merge or blend
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to form (individuals, an unincorporated enterprise, etc) into a corporation or other organization with a separate legal identity from that of its owners or members
adjective
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combined into a whole; incorporated
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formed into or constituted as a corporation
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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incorporatesimple
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incorporatessimple
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have incorporatedperfect
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has incorporatedperfect
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am incorporatingprogressive
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are incorporatingprogressive
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is incorporatingprogressive
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have been incorporatingperfect progressive
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has been incorporatingperfect progressive
Past
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incorporatedsimple
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had incorporatedperfect
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was incorporatingprogressive
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were incorporatingprogressive
-
had been incorporatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of incorporate1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin incorporātus, past participle of incorporāre “to embody, incarnate”; see in- 2, corporate
Origin of incorporate2
First recorded in 1525–35; from Late Latin incorporātus “not embodied”; see in- 3, corporate
Explanation
To incorporate is to include or integrate a part into the whole. Incorporate is a more active version of the word "include"; if you incorporate, you are adding something to the mix. In the business world, to incorporate is a legal process. In other usages, the word incorporate really just means to include something or work something into whatever was already existing. You could incorporate your new roommate's furniture into the decor of your apartment, but you may not find a way to incorporate her cat's litter box.
Vocabulary lists containing incorporate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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List 4
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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.
Congress would be wise to incorporate the court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v.
From Slate • Jul. 6, 2026
One change will incorporate income from tips for graduates into fields where that is a substantial part of their pay.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
Rotisserie chicken is a beloved kitchen staple, whether you eat it straight off the bone or incorporate it into your favorite dishes.
From Salon • Jun. 29, 2026
The Fed has opted to freeze those levels until it can incorporate input from banks into next year’s stress test models.
From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026
If anything, we incorporate our friends into what we have between us.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
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.
