incubate
verb
ˈin-\
Definition of incubate
1a : to sit on (eggs) so as to hatch by the warmth of the body
b : to maintain (something, such as an embryo or a chemically active system) under conditions favorable for hatching, development, or reaction
2 : to cause or aid the development of incubate an idea
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Other Words from incubate
ˈin-
\
adjective
-ˌbā-tə-rē,
ˈin-
\
adjective
Examples of incubate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Melodramatic Purple The trend was already incubating when Lorde stepped onto the red carpet at the 2017 MTV Awards in a light purple confection and gave it a name. — Hayley Phelan, New York Times, "Place Your Bets on the New Millennial Pink," 3 July 2018 Most of that is from The Fairness Project, which has spent about $5.5 million to incubate and lead expansion efforts in the four states, as well as in Maine. — Stephanie Armour, WSJ, "Medicaid-Expansion Fights Pit Hospitals, Labor Against Conservative Groups, Tobacco Companies," 20 Oct. 2018 If all goes according to plan and the embryo is achieved, it will be inserted into a southern white rhino, who will incubate the baby. — Mary Holland, Condé Nast Traveler, "Can the Northern White Rhino Come Back from the Edge of Extinction?," 22 Sep. 2018 The team was able to keep these hPGCLCs alive for four months through incubating them in a dish with mouse ovary cells. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Take Major Step Towards Making Babies From Skin Cells," 21 Sep. 2018 Those larvae then get picked up by biting mosquitoes, which incubate the mini mooches before transferring them to new hosts at their next blood meal. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Selfies show worm slithered through woman’s face for 2 weeks," 22 June 2018 The tech rise of Guadalajara had taken decades to incubate. — Andrew Selee, Smithsonian, "How Guadalajara Reinvented Itself as a Technology Hub," 13 June 2018 The Tezos community, however, proved itself exactly the sort of self-orchestrating effort the platform was designed to incubate, even without recourse to its actual blockchain. — Gideon Lewis-kraus, WIRED, "The Blockchain: A Love Story—And a Horror Story," 18 June 2018 Southgate has done a hell of a job changing the perception of England, incubating an exciting young side by helping them to play, for the most, without the suffocating inhibitions of fear and pressure. — SI.com, "Panic Stations: We Need to Talk About England's Knockout Record Before It Comes Home on July 15," 2 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'incubate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for incubate
incubate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of incubate
of a bird : to sit on eggs so that they will be kept warm and will hatch
of an egg : to be kept warm before hatching
: to keep (something) in the proper conditions for development
See the full definition for incubate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
incubate
verb
\
Kids Definition of incubate
1 : to sit upon eggs to hatch them by warmth
2 : to keep under conditions good for hatching or development
incubate
verb
\
Medical Definition of incubate
1 : to maintain (as eggs, embryos of animals, or bacteria) under prescribed and usually controlled conditions favorable for hatching or development especially in an incubator
2 : to maintain (a chemically active system) under controlled conditions for the development of a reaction
: to undergo incubation the cultures incubated for five days
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