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.
"Modern birds aren't 'better' at hatching eggs. Instead, birds living today and oviraptors have a very different way of incubation or, more specifically, brooding," Yang pointed out.
From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026
The meningitis incubation period is up to 14 days, so officials believe there could be more cases to come, according to the BBC's health correspondent Nick Triggle.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
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 • Dec. 17, 2025
Depending on the species of vulture we're talking about, incubation ranges from 50 days to almost two months.
From Salon • May 11, 2025
Smallpox has an incubation period of about twelve days, during which time sufferers, who may not know they are sick, can infect anyone they meet.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
