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
-
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
-
combined into a whole; incorporated
-
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
-
am incorporatingprogressive
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are incorporatingprogressive
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is incorporatingprogressive
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have been incorporatingperfect progressive
-
has been incorporatingperfect progressive
Past
-
incorporatedsimple
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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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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:
“Recipients must incorporate reproductive goals counseling as a core component of program implementation,” the new guidelines read.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
Authorities are pressuring companies to abandon foreign structures and incorporate locally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The building's developers have found other ways to incorporate the building's past into its new life.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Bureau of Reclamation, said the agency is working with state officials in developing the framework to “provide stability while allowing flexibility” to incorporate any future agreement among the states.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
All educators can incorporate the basic techniques used in these methods as they offer creative, arts-driven curricula through which to teach.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The Michigan survey will publish a final July figure that incorporates more recent consumer responses in two weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Aero warms the water and incorporates the matcha, leaving you with a frothy base to serve on its own or mix with milk, lemonade, peach nectar or even espresso.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
This $20.6-billion spending plan that was approved Tuesday incorporates the layoffs of up to several hundred workers with due-process rights and perhaps 1,000 more without job protections.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
With regard to “quality,” the evidence suggests profitability incorporates any information about expected returns that may be captured by a long list of quality metrics, including convoluted “roll-ups” of many separate measures of firm strength.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
The chaffinch listens to other chaffinches, and incorporates into his memory snatches of their songs.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
The clause survives as decoration: incorporated, venerated, and incapable of stopping a single seizure.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
Apple doesn’t comment on future products, but it has long incorporated Samsung display technology into iPhones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Her final fraudulent application came in September 2020, when she applied for a £50,000 loan for Indian Canteen Ltd - a street food business incorporated in January of that year.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The field first emerged in the 1990s and gained credibility as the UN's climate panel incorporated the work into its assessments.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
The only areas of physical science into which quantum mechanics has not yet been properly incorporated are gravity and the large-scale structure of the universe.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
After "incorporating the suggestions of my cabinet colleagues", a draft legislation would be given "its final shape", he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Pixar affirms this by incorporating a Totoro cameo into “Toy Story 3.”
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
It builds panels that ship as individual walls and are assembled on-site as well as modules incorporating whole rooms with drywall, fixtures, cabinets and utilities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
He is incorporating artificial intelligence into manufacturing processes and using connected technology to troubleshoot machines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Sing Sing moved in some ways into the future, incorporating a small number of vocational programs, a few school courses, a counseling staff, and expanded opportunities for inmate recreation.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
