incubation period

noun

: the period between the infection of an individual by a pathogen and the manifestation of the illness or disease it causes

Examples of incubation period in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Doctors have warned that, despite negative tests, patients could still test positive later, which is why CDC officials are encouraging passengers quarantined in hospitals to remain there through the virus’s full incubation period of 42 days. —Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 15 May 2026

Hantavirus has a long incubation period, and people with high-risk exposures — including cruise ship passengers and people who were on an international flight with a sick passenger — should be monitored for 42 days, health officials say. —Erin Burnett, CNN Money, 14 May 2026

Clues from past outbreaks and knowledge about how respiratory pathogens work could inform efforts to contain the virus as the ship’s passengers and others who may have been exposed are monitored for signs of infection for up to 42 days, the incubation period of Andes virus. —Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 13 May 2026

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Americans who traveled on the MV Hondius are encouraged to stay quarantining in Nebraska but stopped short of saying they would be kept at the facility for the full 42-day incubation period. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 13 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for incubation period

• myriad
• photoperiod

Kids Definition

incubation period

noun

1

: the period of brooding or incubating required to bring an egg to hatching

2

: the period between infection with a germ and the appearance of the disease or illness it causes

Medical Definition

incubation period

noun

: the period between the infection of an individual by a pathogen and the manifestation of the disease it causes

Mono, which has an incubation period of 30 to 50 days, characteristically announces itself with headaches, fever, sore throat, tonsillitis, and extreme fatigue.

—Your Health & Fitness

Quarantines worked to control the SARS epidemic because SARS is much less contagious than flu and has a longer incubation period.

—Christine Gorman, Time