incubate
incubate Lexical Profile
incubate Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To sit on eggs in order to keep them warm and bring them to hatching, or to maintain eggs, embryos, or cell cultures under controlled environmental conditions favorable for development.
"Both the male and female penguins take turns to incubate the single egg during the harsh winter."
To nurture, support, and develop an idea, project, or fledgling business slowly and carefully before it is fully realized or launched.
"The university's innovation hub helps incubate promising tech startups by providing mentorship and seed funding."
To harbor a pathogen or infectious disease in the body during the latent stage before clinical symptoms appear (or of a pathogen, to multiply and develop toward producing symptoms).
"A patient can incubate the virus for up to two weeks before showing any signs of illness."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin incubatus, the past participle of incubare ('to lie upon' or 'to brood'), formed from in- ('on, upon') and cubare ('to lie down').