do·mes·ti·cate
də-ˈme-sti-ˌkāt 
domesticated; domesticating
1
2
: to adapt (an animal or plant) over time from a wild or natural state especially by selective breeding to life in close association with and to the benefit of humans
The Asian equids, including the now-endangered Przewalski's horse, apparently provided the stock from which the horse was domesticated five to six thousand years ago.—
Bruce J. MacFadden
Bruce J. MacFaddenBut every reader addicted to coffee can thank ancient Ethiopian farmers for domesticating the coffee plant.—Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond3
: to cause to become adapted to life in a household : to make fit for domestic life
wasn't interested in becoming domesticated
4
: to bring to the level of ordinary people
do·mes·ti·cate
də-ˈme-sti-kət
-ˌkāt
: a domesticated (see domesticate entry 1 sense 2) animal or plant
Examples of domesticate in a Sentence
Verb
Horses and oxen have been domesticated to work on farms.
She jokes that dogs are easier to domesticate than men.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 July 2025
While domesticated grapes are hermaphorditic, meaning their flowers contain both male and female organs, wild grapes are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants, as is the case with this species.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024
These animals and crops were gradually joined by China’s many other domesticates.
—Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
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Verb
Before the pottery wheel and writing systems were shared between cultures, domesticated plants and animals spread across the Fertile Crescent and Egypt in the sixth millennium BC, as societies transitioned from being hunter-gatherers to living in permanent settlements.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 July 2025
While domesticated grapes are hermaphorditic, meaning their flowers contain both male and female organs, wild grapes are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants, as is the case with this species.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
Noun
As the world’s first domesticates, dogs were tamed and domesticated gradually through the generations.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024
These animals and crops were gradually joined by China’s many other domesticates.
—Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Cite this Entry
“Domesticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/domesticate. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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