incubation period

noun

: the period between the infection of an individual by a pathogen and the manifestation of the illness or disease it causes

Examples of incubation period in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The time of the incubation period ranges, lasting weeks to months, and varies vary depending on the location of the exposure site on the body, the type of rabies virus and any existing immunity, USA TODAY reported. —Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024

Prion diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, can have long incubation periods but progress rapidly once symptoms start to present themselves and are always fatal. —Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

incubation period

noun

1

: the period of brooding or incubating required to bring an egg to hatching

2

: the period between infection with a germ and the appearance of the disease or illness it causes

Medical Definition

incubation period

noun

: the period between the infection of an individual by a pathogen and the manifestation of the disease it causes

Mono, which has an incubation period of 30 to 50 days, characteristically announces itself with headaches, fever, sore throat, tonsillitis, and extreme fatigue.

—Your Health & Fitness

Quarantines worked to control the SARS epidemic because SARS is much less contagious than flu and has a longer incubation period.

—Christine Gorman, Time