incubate
verb (used with object)
to sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching.
were incubating
-
past progressiveof incubate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Soil was a metaphor for the growth we were incubating in our lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Ecologist Andrew Chick said the nests meant 22 herons were incubating three to four eggs each.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2022
"Little did I know that they were sick, and we were incubating in it."
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2021
He can’t stay out of town with his parents; if he were incubating the virus that would risk their health and that of their circle of older friends.
From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2020
In fact, the habit had hitherto been, as it were, incubating unperceived in him, as a fever does in its early stage.
From Flower, Fruit, and Thorn Pieces; or, the Wedded Life, Death, and Marriage of Firmian Stanislaus Siebenkaes, Parish Advocate in the Burgh of Kuhschnappel. by Jean Paul
