gestation

noun ges·ta·tion \ je-ˈstā-shən \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of gestation

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

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

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gestational

play \je-ˈstā-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl\ adjective

See gestation defined for English-language learners

See gestation defined for kids

Examples of gestation in a Sentence

the gestation of new ideas
The book has been in gestation for a long time.

Recent Examples of gestation from the Web

Her fetus, whose gender could not be determined, appeared to have reached the 38th week of gestation, making it just two weeks shy of full term.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Rare Case of ‘Coffin Birth’ Seen in Medieval Grave," 5 Apr. 2018
The fetus was 21 weeks into the gestation period, according to police.

— hanna krueger, NOLA.com, "Child abuse unit investigating woman's miscarriage: NOPD," 1 Apr. 2018
The twins, a male and a female, were approximately 32 to 34 weeks along in their gestation period when they were found Feb. 16 along County Road 602 in Wynne, according to the statement.

— greg hanlon, PEOPLE.com, "Stillborn Twins Found in Suitcase Along Arkansas Road, Woman Arrested," 23 Mar. 2018
The science is in large part motivated by the high, and steadily rising, number of babies born preterm or before 37 weeks of gestation.

— everyday einstein sabrina stierwalt, Scientific American, "Could Artificial Wombs Be a Reality?," 24 Jan. 2018
On November 22, at about 24 weeks gestation, Green spiked a fever.

— eva holland, WIRED, "Saving Baby Boy Green," 27 Mar. 2018
The national average gestation period for quintuplet deliveries is a little less than 27 weeks, according to Elliott.

— adrian marsh, azcentral, "Family of 4 becomes 9: Scott quintuplets delivered at 29 weeks in Phoenix," 23 Mar. 2018
Females can give birth to up to 25 babies after a short gestation period of 11 to 13 days.

— cheryl conley, Houston Chronicle, "Totally awesome opossum help us fight bugs, snakes," 20 Mar. 2018
Stillbirth is defined as the death of infants before or during delivery at 20 or more weeks of gestation.

— laura hancock, cleveland.com, "Parents of stillborn babies ask lawmakers to back bill offering tax credit," 14 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of gestation

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1615

See Words from the same year

gestation Synonyms

Other Embryology Terms

gravid, neonate, ontogeny, parturition

GESTATION Defined for English Language Learners

gestation

noun

Definition of gestation for English Language Learners

: the time when a person or animal is developing inside its mother before it is born; also : the process of development that happens during this time
: the process by which something (such as an idea) forms and develops