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
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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:
Countries were also encouraged to tailor insurance schemes or subsidies for under-served communities and to incorporate inequality indicators into their national health systems.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Companies like Snowflake, Vercel and OpenRouter all incorporate DeepSeek in their offerings to customers.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
For Tedesco, who grew up Catholic in a small town, it was important to create a space on campus for Christian representation, where students like her could incorporate their faith in day-to-day life and community.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
AI has lifted software and accessories inflation by boosting demand for memory and also by higher prices for software products that now incorporate AI features.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
A successful unified theory must, therefore, necessarily incorporate this principle.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
This North American premiere features music by Maxime Jerry Fraisse, and incorporates new and existing tracks from the contemporary Irish folk band Lankum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Expanding on that idea, Ashe incorporates the ebullient sound of a New Orleans funeral band in the song's closing moments.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Her food is rooted in Jordan, she explained, even as she incorporates techniques learned from chefs in Italy, Peru and Ecuador.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Let’s begin with an example that incorporates only state and local income-tax brackets, with the most commonly cited benchmark bond.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
The more intriguing aspect of children’s play is that it naturally incorporates the integration and multimodality that we attempt to instill during education such as dance, drama, and music.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Doctors told us the hospital was not incorporated into the base and said they visited it to pick up medical equipment during the war.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
She noted that Anthropic, which is incorporated as a public benefit corporation, already has a reputation for its focus on helping society.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
When the scientists incorporated the larger reaction network into a model of how quickly the chemical processes occur, the predicted amount of CO2 conversion increased by approximately 40 times compared with the original model.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Frank G. Brotz’s Kohler Electric Sink, which incorporated a motorized dishwasher into the familiar basin, promised release from the “thrice-daily drudgery” of washing dishes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
There would be plenty of time for good new ideas to be incorporated into the mission plan.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
She started by incorporating a pair of Freightliner eCascadia, then took a chance on Nikola.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
By incorporating four additional factors that influence fusion performance, they have mapped a promising route to ignition that could require substantially less energy than alternative approaches.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Then, incorporating this week’s lesson, white balsamic or apple cider vinegar keeps the root vegetables’ sweetness from becoming cloying.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
The industry’s shift away from incorporating AM radio began a decade ago, after more car companies began to develop electric vehicles for the U.S. market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Afterward they mixed the garbage into the mound, incorporating the celebration into the construction.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
