incubate
verb /ˈɪŋkjubeɪt/
/ˈɪŋkjubeɪt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they incubate | /ˈɪŋkjubeɪt/ /ˈɪŋkjubeɪt/ |
| he / she / it incubates | /ˈɪŋkjubeɪts/ /ˈɪŋkjubeɪts/ |
| past simple incubated | /ˈɪŋkjubeɪtɪd/ /ˈɪŋkjubeɪtɪd/ |
| past participle incubated | /ˈɪŋkjubeɪtɪd/ /ˈɪŋkjubeɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form incubating | /ˈɪŋkjubeɪtɪŋ/ /ˈɪŋkjubeɪtɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] incubate something (of a bird) to sit on its eggs in order to keep them warm until they hatch
- [transitive] incubate something (biology) to keep cells, bacteria, etc. at a suitable temperature so that they develop
- The samples were incubated at 80°C for three minutes.
- [transitive] be incubating something(medical) to have a disease developing inside you before symptoms appear
- The source of infection may be a person who is incubating an infectious disease.
- [intransitive] (medical) (of a disease) to develop slowly without showing any signs
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Latin incubat- ‘lain on’, from the verb incubare, from in- ‘upon’ + cubare ‘to lie’.