incubate
/ˈɪŋkjubeɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɪŋkjubeɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈiŋ-kyə-ˌbāt ˈin-/ (ame, mw)
incubate — verb
- incubatepresent simple I / you / we / they
- incubateshe / she / it
- incubatedpast simple
- incubating-ing form
1. If a bird sits on its eggs so the eggs stay warm and the babies inside can grow
If a bird sits on its eggs so the eggs stay warm and the babies inside can grow until they break out of the shell, the bird incubates the eggs; the eggs themselves are also said to incubate during that period.
The female penguin incubates her single egg on top of her feet for two months.
subject = bird; transitive: incubate + eggs
Christopher watched the hen turn the brown eggs it was incubating in the nest box.
transitive use; typical farm setting
Chicken eggs usually incubate for about twenty-one days before the chicks begin to hatch.
Storks take turns incubating their eggs, with one parent flying off to find food.
文法句型
[bird] + incubate + eggs
eggs + incubate
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a bird (or a bird-keeper acting on the bird's behalf). Distinguish from sense 3: sense 1 is the natural body-warmth behaviour of a bird; sense 3 is the lab or farm technique of using a machine.
常見錯誤
2. When sickness-causing germs grow quietly inside the body of someone (or an anima
When sickness-causing germs grow quietly inside the body of someone (or an animal) during the gap between catching the germ and feeling unwell, they incubate; the host can also be said to incubate them during this silent stage.
The flu virus usually incubates for one to four days before any symptoms appear.
intransitive: [virus] + incubate + for [duration]
Lan was already incubating the measles virus when she boarded the flight home from Manila.
transitive: [person] + be incubating + [disease]
Many children catch chickenpox at school and incubate the virus for nearly two weeks.
Travellers may incubate a tropical disease for days before any rash or fever appears.
文法句型
[virus / bacteria] + incubate
[person] + incubate + [virus / disease]
用法筆記
Often passive-leaning or with a person as subject acting as a silent carrier — the person isn't doing anything actively. Distinguish from sense 3: this is about a sickness growing inside a body, not a scientist controlling conditions in a lab.
常見錯誤
3. In a science lab or on a farm, to hold living material such as cells, bacteria,
In a science lab or on a farm, to hold living material such as cells, bacteria, or embryos at a steady temperature under carefully chosen conditions, often inside a special heated box, so that it grows, hatches, or reacts properly.
Élise incubated the bacterial samples at thirty-seven degrees overnight to count the colonies later.
transitive: incubate + sample + at [temp] + [duration]
The lab technician incubated the fertilised chicken eggs in a warm machine for three weeks.
controlled-equipment use; passive scientific subject
Researchers in Taipei incubate stem cells in special dishes before injecting them into damaged tissue.
After mixing the enzyme with the blood sample, Antonia incubated the mixture for thirty minutes.
文法句型
[scientist] + incubate + [cells / sample] + at [temperature]
incubate + [sample] + for [duration]
用法筆記
Subject is usually a scientist, lab worker, or breeder; the object is the biological material being kept under controlled conditions. Distinguish from sense 1: a bird's body heat versus a machine or carefully managed room.
常見錯誤
4. When an idea, plan, or new business grows quietly over time before it is ready t
When an idea, plan, or new business grows quietly over time before it is ready to be shown to others, it incubates; a person, group, or place that helps such a project grow this way is also said to incubate it.
Kemi let the story idea incubate for several months before writing the first chapter.
intransitive: [idea] + incubate; informal extended meaning
The university programme incubates ten student start-ups each year with free office space and advice.
transitive: [place] + incubate + [start-ups]
Many of Taipei's best small restaurants were incubated inside the night market food stalls.
Gabriel and Wren spent two years incubating a plan to open a small neighbourhood bookstore.
文法句型
[idea / plan] + incubate
[person / place] + incubate + [idea / business]
用法筆記
Figurative use; often found in business and creative writing. Distinguish from sense 2: the development here is positive (toward launch or completion), while sense 2 is negative (toward sickness).