v., -bat·ed, -bat·ing, -bates. v.tr.
- To sit on (eggs) to provide heat, so as to promote embryonic development and the hatching of young; brood.
- To maintain (eggs, organisms, or living tissue) at optimal environmental conditions for growth and development.
- To maintain (a chemical or biochemical system) under specific conditions in order to promote a particular reaction.
- To form or consider slowly and protectively, as if hatching: incubated the idea for a while, then announced it.
- To brood eggs.
- To develop and hatch.
- To undergo incubation.
[Latin incubāre, incubāt-, to lie down on : in-, on; see in-2 + cubāre, to lie down.]
incubative in'cu·ba'tive adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.