SINCE 1828
incubate
verb
in·cu·bate
| \ ˈiŋ-kyə-ˌbāt
, ˈin-\
, ˈin-\
incubated;
incubating
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
incubative
\ ˈiŋ-kyə-ˌbā-tiv
, ˈin- \
adjective
, ˈin- \
adjective
incubatory
\ ˈiŋ-kyə-bə-ˌtȯr-ē
, -ˌbā-tə-rē , ˈin- \
adjective
, -ˌbā-tə-rē , ˈin- \
adjective
Examples of incubate in a Sentence
The female bird incubates the eggs.
Researchers incubated the cells in the laboratory.
The cultures must incubate for five more days.
The virus will incubate in the body for several days before the patient experiences any symptoms.
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Recent Examples on the Web
These were intimate spaces that may, in fact, have helped incubate her very intimate portraits. — Julia Felsenthal, Vogue, "Searching for Myself in Alice Neel’s Radical Portraits," 26 Feb. 2019 Silicon Valley has incubated some of the world’s most successful companies but ask locals where to go for a world-class drink and responses range from blank looks to directions to San Francisco, an hour’s drive north. — Patrick Thomas, WSJ, "Five Bars Disrupting Silicon Valley’s Nightlife," 5 Dec. 2018 Since the financial crisis incubated in the credit markets, investors and economists have watched the growth of debt cautiously. — Aaron Kuriloff, WSJ, "Taking Stock of the World’s Debt," 27 Dec. 2018 Four years ago, Cai co-founded the HR software startup Fountain, which was incubated in YCombinator. — Chavie Lieber, Vox, "Italic sells brandless luxury goods from manufactures for Celine, Prada, and Gucci.," 15 Nov. 2018 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. 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
technical
: to keep (something) in the proper conditions for development
See the full definition for incubate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
incubate
verb
in·cu·bate
| \ ˈiŋ-kyə-ˌbāt
\
\
incubated;
incubating
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
in·cu·bate
| \ ˈiŋ-kyə-ˌbāt, ˈin-
\
\
incubated;
incubating
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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