gestation

noun

ges·​ta·​tion je-ˈstā-shən 

1

: the carrying of young in the uterus (see uterus sense 1) : pregnancy

2

: conception (see conception sense 3) and development especially in the mind

gestational

je-ˈstā-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Synonyms

• family way
• gravidity
• pregnancy

Examples of gestation in a Sentence

the gestation of new ideas

The book has been in gestation for a long time.

Recent Examples on the Web

Trying out their research on mice was easier than doing so on elephants—for one thing, the average gestation period for a mouse is three weeks, whereas an elephant’s is twenty-two months, the longest of any mammal. —D. T. Max, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

Asian elephants—the extinct woolly mammoth’s closest surviving kin—require 22 months, the longest gestation period of any mammal. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 7 Apr. 2025

Hoffman’s two-toed sloths have a gestation period of around 11.5 months. —Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2025

More than 80% of women will choose to terminate a pregnancy with anencephaly when detected before 24 weeks’ gestation, according to data from before the Dobbs decision. —Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin gestation-, gestatio, from gestare to bear, frequentative of gerere to bear

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gestation

• ablation
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation

Kids Definition

gestation

noun

ges·​ta·​tion je-ˈstā-shən 

: the carrying of young in the uterus : pregnancy

Medical Definition

gestation

noun

ges·​ta·​tion je-ˈstā-shən 

1

: the carrying of young in the uterus from conception to delivery : pregnancy

2

: gestation period

gestational

-shnəl, -shən-ᵊl 

adjective