Search results
- Dictionaryincubate/ˈɪŋkjʊbeɪt/
verb
- 1. (of a bird) sit on (eggs) in order to keep them warm and bring them to hatching.
- 2. be developing an infectious disease before symptoms appear: "the possibility that she was incubating early syphilis"
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
1. a. : 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. intransitive verb.
INCUBATE definition: 1. When a bird, etc. incubates its eggs, it keeps them warm until the young come out, and when eggs…. Learn more.
us / ˈɪŋ·kjəˌbeɪt, ˈɪn- /. Add to word list. to keep something warm, causing it to develop, esp. to keep eggs warm until the young are born: Condors incubate only one egg and raise one chick at a time. Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that incubate in forest animals, such as mice.
verb. 1. (of birds) to supply (eggs) with heat for their development, esp by sitting on them. 2. to cause (eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop, esp in an incubator or culture medium. 3. (intransitive)
Definition of incubate verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
to hatch eggs by sitting on them or by artificial heat; to develop, grow, take form: Her plan would slowly incubate in her mind.
To incubate means to keep something safe and warm so that it can grow. The word can be used metaphorically to mean to keep something safe in order for it to have time to grow. You incubate a plan or an idea before bringing it into the world, or, metaphorically speaking, hatching it.
1. a [+ object] of a bird : to sit on eggs so that they will be kept warm and will hatch. The female bird incubates the eggs. b [no object] of an egg : to be kept warm before hatching. The eggs need to incubate for two weeks. 2. technical : to keep (something) in the proper conditions for development. [+ object]
Discover everything about the word "INCUBATE" in English: meanings, translations, synonyms, pronunciations, examples, and grammar insights - all in one comprehensive guide.
to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants. to develop or produce as if by hatching; give form to: His brain was incubating schemes for raising money.
