incubation period

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. the period between infection and the appearance of signs of a disease.

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incubation period British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: incubation.  med the time between exposure to an infectious disease and the appearance of the first signs or symptoms

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incubation period Cultural  

1. The amount of time it takes for symptoms of a disease to appear after an individual is infected (see infection) with the pathogen that causes the disease.

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Etymology

Origin of incubation period

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

But because meningitis has an incubation period of up to 10 days, more time is needed before the outbreak can be declared over, he said.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

The virus is contagious only when symptoms appear after an incubation period of two to 21 days.

From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025

Listeria is unusually hard to trace after an outbreak because it has a long incubation period — the CDC says it can take up to 10 weeks for some people to develop symptoms.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2024

Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said it’s likely more people will become ill with cryptosporidiosis in coming days or weeks because of a lag in the incubation period.

From Seattle Times • May 17, 2024

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