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:
She pushed to incorporate the risks of climate change into the ECB’s programs and spearheaded the creation of a central-bank digital currency, meant to address Europe’s dependence on U.S. payment infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Because Carpenter reaches for all of the concession-stand classics — M&Ms, Red Vines, Hershey’s bars — they wanted to incorporate fun, nostalgic, textural elements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Their gestures were filmed as they recorded their lines, so that animators could incorporate those mannerisms into the movie.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 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
Binders were never quite sure what to do with it—to incorporate it as a fold-out page, or as a two-page spread.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Maximum parsimony identifies evolutionary relationships that require the fewest changes in characteristics, while Bayesian tip-dating also incorporates statistical estimates of evolutionary history and information about when fossils lived.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
Barclays says it is cutting 5,000 jobs, or about 5% of its workforce, as the bank incorporates AI more deeply into its business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
And a canvas study of Alonzo’s own mural, “Eye of Consciousness,” incorporates the five Olympic rings, an arrow, a trumpet and Egyptian iconography.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
The Las Vegas street circuit incorporates the famous Strip into the layout for a race that takes place at night.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The center incorporates a lab with a glass wall through which visitors can watch paleontologists cleaning bones.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
The researchers also wanted to determine whether the additional oxygen was truly incorporated into the material or merely trapped as tiny gas bubbles.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Current versions are not easily incorporated into computer chips, making practical integration difficult.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
That canted, seven-sided building boldly incorporated a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter jet into its sheet metal and stucco-clad architecture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 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
Mitochondria are widely believed to descend from bacteria that long ago somehow became incorporated into one of our evolutionary ancestors.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
That point was reinforced by Tracey Dunn, from the Allergy UK incorporating Anaphylaxis UK organisation, who also spoke to teachers at Regent House School.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Throughout his decades of ownership, Love also used the property as a creative retreat, incorporating spaces dedicated to music and relaxation.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
She started by incorporating a pair of Freightliner eCascadia, then took a chance on Nikola.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
“I have really tried to encourage geriatricians to think about incorporating grip strength, it seems to trump almost every single measure including cardiovascular fitness training,” Peterson says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 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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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
