incubate

[in-kyuh-beyt, ing-] /ˈɪn kyəˌbeɪt, ˈɪŋ-/
verb (used with object), incubated, incubating.
1.
to sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching.
2.
to hatch (eggs), as by sitting upon them or by artificial heat.
3.
to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants.
4.
to develop or produce as if by hatching; give form to:
His brain was incubating schemes for raising money.
verb (used without object), incubated, incubating.
5.
to sit upon eggs.
6.
to undergo incubation.
7.
to develop; grow; take form:
A plan was slowly incubating in her mind.
Origin
1635-45; < Latin incubātus past participle of incubāre to lie or recline on, to sit on (eggs), equivalent to in- in-2 + cub(āre) to sit, lie down + -ātus -ate1; cf. incumbent, concubine
Related forms
incubative, adjective
unincubated, adjective
Examples from the web for incubate
  • Parents incubate the eggs for about a month until the eggs hatch.
  • The hen does not begin to incubate until all the eggs are laid and all the eggs hatch within a single day.
  • They incubate silently for years, slowly eating the brain away and leaving it full of holes.
  • By shivering their muscles, pythons raise their body temperature above ambient and use this heat to incubate their eggs.
  • It is cruelty to animals to use dozens of living dogs to try to incubate replicas of previously living dogs.
  • Oviparous-or egg-laying-snakes tend to live in warmer climates, which helps incubate their eggs.
  • They are monogamous, and both parents incubate their three to four eggs.
  • The males incubate the eggs and carry them to term, releasing miniature sea dragons into the water after about four to six weeks.
  • Females produce two to seven eggs, which both parents protect and incubate.
  • There are dads who incubate their babies in their mouths, their vocal sacs, and in pouches.
British Dictionary definitions for incubate

incubate

/ˈɪnkjʊˌbeɪt/
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) (of eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop in favourable conditions, esp in an incubator
4.
(intransitive) (of disease germs) to remain inactive in an animal or human before causing disease
5.
to develop or cause to develop gradually; foment or be fomented
Derived Forms
incubation, noun
incubational, adjective
incubative, incubatory, adjective
Word Origin
C18: from Latin incubāre to lie upon, hatch, from in-² + cubāre to lie down
Word Origin and History for incubate
v.

1640s, "to brood upon, watch jealously" (which also was a figurative sense of Latin incubare); 1721 as "to sit on eggs to hatch them," from Latin incubatus, past participle of incubare "to lie in or upon" (see incubation). Related: Incubated; incubating.

incubate in Medicine

incubate in·cu·bate (ĭn'kyə-bāt', ĭng'-)
v. in·cu·bat·ed, in·cu·bat·ing, in·cu·bates

  1. To maintain eggs, organisms, or living tissue at optimal environmental conditions for growth and development.

  2. To maintain a chemical or biochemical system under specific conditions in order to promote a particular reaction.

incubate in Science
incubation
  (ĭn'kyə-bā'shən)   

  1. The act of warming eggs in order to hatch them, as by a bird sitting upon a clutch of eggs in a nest.

  2. The act of keeping an organism, a cell, or cell culture in conditions favorable for growth and development.

  3. The maintenance of an infant, especially one that is ill or born before the usual gestation period, in an environment of controlled temperature, humidity, and oxygen concentration in order to provide optimal conditions for growth and development.

  4. The development of an infection from the time the pathogen enters the body until signs or symptoms first appear.


incubate verb