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Webster's New World College Dictionary » incubate
incubate
incubate definition
in·cu·bate (in′kyə bāt′, iŋ′-)
transitive verb incubated -·bat′ed, incubating -·bat′·ing
- to sit on and hatch (eggs)
- to keep (eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc.) in a favorable environment for hatching or developing
- to cause to develop or take form, as by thought or planning
Etymology: < L incubatus, pp. of incubare, to lie in or upon < in-, in- + cubare, to lie: see cube
intransitive verb
- to go through the process of incubation
- to develop or take form, esp. gradually
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