domesticate

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verb do·mes·ti·cate \ də-ˈmes-ti-ˌkāt \

Definition of domesticate

domesticated; domesticating

transitive verb

1 :to bring into use in one's own country :to bring into domestic use :adopt

started to domesticate European customs

2 :to adapt (an animal or plant) to life in intimate association with and to the advantage of humans

when humans first domesticated the dog

3 :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

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domestication

play \-ˌmes-ti-ˈkā-shən\ noun

See domesticate defined for English-language learners

See domesticate defined for kids

Examples of domesticate in a Sentence

Horses and oxen have been domesticated to work on farms.
She jokes that dogs are easier to domesticate than men.

Recent Examples of domesticate from the Web

The ending of Dirty Dancing suggests he’s been tamed and domesticated, but his dancing tells another story.

— stephanie zacharek, Time, "Dirty Dancing," 24 Aug. 2017
Domesticated roughly 13,000 to 30,000 years ago, they have been selectively bred for companionship.

— jackie mansky, Smithsonian, "A Brief History of Traveling with Cats," 14 Aug. 2017
So Ortman and a team of archaeologists and anthropologists led by molecular anthropologist Brian Kemp at the University of Oklahoma in Norman turned to the next best thing: the DNA of the animals these ancient people domesticated.

— michael price, Science | AAAS, "'Vanished' people may live on in the American Southwest," 8 Aug. 2017
The researchers used various measures of bee and colony health for both domesticated and wild bees, a total of 14 tests in all.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "Study paints a confused picture of how insecticides are affecting bees," 30 June 2017
His goal is to convince farmers and other property owners that hardy domesticated rice varieties developed for cold, northern climates on other continents can be grown and harvested for retail sale in Wisconsin.

— don behm, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Rice planting in Mequon is historic first for Wisconsin," 29 June 2017
The country hasn’t completely failed to domesticate its chip business.

— ian king, Bloomberg.com, "China Is Missing Out on the Chips Rush," 26 June 2017
Fairchild has identified and domesticated some of these jewels of the jungle that can now grow successfully in South Florida.

— noris ledesma, miamiherald, "Taming the wild mango," 22 June 2017
Whether the reclusive animals are truly domesticated.)

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Most Republicans in the Georgia special election are willing to give Trumpcare a chance," 20 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'domesticate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of domesticate

see ¹domestic

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1639

See Words from the same year

Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

fallow, graft, heirloom, loam, potash, soilage, swath, tilth, windfall

domesticate

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noun do·mes·ti·cate \ -kət , -ˌkāt \

Definition of domesticate

:a domesticated (see ¹domesticate 2) animal or plant

Recent Examples of domesticate from the Web

So if ants are growing wet habitat-loving fungi, and remove them to a dry habitat, that's sort of like humans taking one of their domesticates out of its native range.

— brian handwerk, Smithsonian, "How Ants Became the World’s Best Fungus Farmers," 12 Apr. 2017

Origin and Etymology of domesticate

see ¹domestic

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1951

See Words from the same year

Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

fallow, graft, heirloom, loam, potash, soilage, swath, tilth, windfall

DOMESTICATE Defined for English Language Learners

domesticate

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verb

Definition of domesticate for English Language Learners

: to breed or train (an animal) to need and accept the care of human beings : to tame (an animal)
: to grow (a plant) for human use
: to train (someone) to behave in an appropriate way at home (such as by using good manners, being polite, being helpful, etc.)