incorporate
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
incorporates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
incorporated,
past participle, past
-
incorporating
present participle
-
to form into a legal corporation.
-
to put or introduce into a body or mass as an integral part or parts.
to incorporate revisions into a text.
-
to take in or include as a part or parts, as the body or a mass does.
His book incorporates his earlier essay.
-
to form or combine into one body or uniform substance, as ingredients.
- Synonyms:
- personify, amalgamate, mix, blend, assimilate, absorb
-
His book incorporates all his thinking on the subject.
-
to form into a society or organization.
verb (used without object)
-
incorporates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
incorporated,
past participle, past
-
incorporating
present participle
-
to form a legal corporation.
-
to unite or combine so as to form one body.
adjective
-
legally incorporated, as a company.
-
combined into one body, mass, or substance.
-
Archaic. embodied.
adjective
verb
-
to include or be included as a part or member of a united whole
-
to form or cause to form a united whole or mass; merge or blend
-
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
-
combined into a whole; incorporated
-
formed into or constituted as a corporation
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
incorporatesimple
-
incorporatessimple
-
have incorporatedperfect
-
has incorporatedperfect
-
am incorporatingprogressive
-
are incorporatingprogressive
-
is incorporatingprogressive
-
have been incorporatingperfect progressive
-
has been incorporatingperfect progressive
Past
-
incorporatedsimple
-
had incorporatedperfect
-
was incorporatingprogressive
-
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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A Recipe for Success: Thanksgiving Cooking Words
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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.
See Examples For:
A new federal rule finalized in March 2026 increased the amount of renewable fuel that refiners and importers must incorporate into the nation’s transportation-fuel supply.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Estimates will remain cloudy, however, until economists can further incorporate Friday morning’s August consumer-price data into their analysis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Inside, other staff members worked to incorporate paper records into a database.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
"Personality seems to be relevant nearly everywhere you look. We hope this study will encourage many other scientists to incorporate personality traits into their fields of study," said Schwaba.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026
In preparation for longer, narrative stories in which sound effects and music are incorporated, there are many children’s rhymes that tell stories and incorporate fun sounds.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
"Parents quite like it because it's healthy; it creates friendships and trading and gaming, and incorporates all these wonderful things that aren't detrimental to a child or young person's mind."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Yield to call: This is similar to the yield to maturity, except that it incorporates the call date rather than the maturity date.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
“Bookmaking as a process incorporates technologies from every century. Whatever makes the best book,” Gioia said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
The measure incorporates socioeconomic conditions, access to food, opportunities for physical activity and local crime rates.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
String theory has further spawned something called "M theory," which incorporates surfaces known as membranes–or simply "branes" to the hipper souls of the world of physics.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Serine occurs in foods such as soybeans, eggs, fish, and nuts, while the form incorporated into dietary proteins is L-serine.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
That revision was undertaken with analytical rigor: The process took two years, involved 35 agencies, incorporated extensive new and existing research, and elicited over 20,000 comments.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the legislation's leading Republican architects, said the final text incorporated more than 120 changes sought by Democrats.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
And following the rise of gold prices, some designers incorporated wood, ceramic and titanium into their designs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
A few years later the Japanese company incorporated elements of Lawrence’s design into one of the most successful color TV technologies in history, a product it named Trinitron.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Their bubble risk indicator is a price-based measure, designed to detect bubble-like asset dynamics with the model incorporating an asset’s returns, volatility, momentum and fragility into a single reading.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Ashley Bleckner, a wealth adviser at Ellevest in San Diego, says incorporating pet care into a younger person’s limited budget means your emergency fund isn’t just for your own emergencies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
"That includes several audits. They have now reconciled their historical data, and recently they published a revised bulletin with the historical data, incorporating the findings of the debt," she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
During a panel titled “The World’s Most Influential Food,” chef Brandon Jew talked about incorporating traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients into his cooking.
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026
Walter and Kathy have never hesitated to criticize me, and I took their suggestions to heart, often incorporating their changes.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
