incubate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching.
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to hatch (eggs), as by sitting upon them or by artificial heat.
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to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants.
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to develop or produce as if by hatching; give form to.
His brain was incubating schemes for raising money.
verb (used without object)
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to sit upon eggs.
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to undergo incubation.
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A plan was slowly incubating in her mind.
verb
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(of birds) to supply (eggs) with heat for their development, esp by sitting on them
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to cause (eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop, esp in an incubator or culture medium
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(intr) (of eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop in favourable conditions, esp in an incubator
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(intr) (of disease germs) to remain inactive in an animal or human before causing disease
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to develop or cause to develop gradually; foment or be fomented
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incubate
First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin incubātus, past participle of incubāre “to lie or recline on, to sit on (eggs),” equivalent to in- “in” + cub(āre) “to sit, lie down” + -ātus past participle suffix; see in- 2, -ate 1. Cf. incumbent, concubine
Explanation
When a chicken sits on an egg, it incubates it. To incubate means to keep something safe and warm so that it can grow. The word can be used metaphorically to mean to keep something safe in order for it to have time to grow. You incubate a plan or an idea before bringing it into the world, or, metaphorically speaking, hatching it. Premature or particularly small babies are placed into an incubator when they are born. This warm, clean environment helps them to grow.
Vocabulary lists containing incubate
Words of a Feather: Unflappable Avian Vocabulary
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for April 15–April 21, 2023
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The Other Side
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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.
We’ve watched it incubate in this country since Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025
Yet the festival, the labs and the institute have remained a constant through it all, continuing to incubate fresh talent to launch to the industry.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2025
By contrast, she says the A$13.7bn set aside to process critical minerals and incubate Australia’s nascent green hydrogen industry “isn’t real money”.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2024
Fecal samples from the children were exposed to several levels of BPA and allowed to incubate for 3 days.
From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2024
The shells of her eggs would be thin and eventually smash when she tried to incubate them.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
