incubate
incubate — 動詞
- 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
孵蛋；孵化
鳥用體溫使蛋發育成小鳥
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.
母企鵝會把唯一的蛋放在腳上孵蛋，整整孵兩個月。
subject = bird; transitive: incubate + eggs
Christopher watched the hen turn the brown eggs it was incubating in the nest box.
Christopher 看著母雞小心地翻動牠正在孵的蛋，那些蛋就放在木製的雞窩裡。
transitive use; typical farm setting
Chicken eggs usually incubate for about twenty-one days before the chicks begin to hatch.
雞蛋通常要孵化大約二十一天，小雞才會開始破殼而出。
intransitive: eggs + incubate + for [duration]
Storks take turns incubating their eggs, with one parent flying off to find food.
鸛鳥會輪流孵蛋，其中一隻爸媽飛出去找食物。
transitive; plural subject sharing duty
- incubate eggs
- incubate for [N] days
- incubate in the nest
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
潛伏
病毒在體內悄悄繁殖、尚未發病的階段
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.
流感病毒通常潛伏一到四天，病人才會感覺到任何症狀。
intransitive: [virus] + incubate + for [duration]
Lan was already incubating the measles virus when she boarded the flight home from Manila.
Lan 從馬尼拉搭機回家時，身體裡其實已經在潛伏麻疹病毒了。
transitive: [person] + be incubating + [disease]
Many children catch chickenpox at school and incubate the virus for nearly two weeks.
許多小孩在學校感染水痘，回家後病毒會在體內潛伏將近兩週。
transitive: [person] + incubate + [disease] + for [time]
Travellers may incubate a tropical disease for days before any rash or fever appears.
旅客的熱帶疾病可能會潛伏好幾天，才會出現紅疹或發燒。
common medical usage; person as silent carrier
- incubate a virus
- incubate the disease
- incubation period
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,
培養；培育
在實驗室控制條件下培養細胞、細菌或胚胎
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.
Élise 把細菌樣本放在攝氏三十七度下培養一整晚，隔天早上再數菌落數量。
transitive: incubate + sample + at [temp] + [duration]
The lab technician incubated the fertilised chicken eggs in a warm machine for three weeks.
實驗室技術員把受精的雞蛋放進保溫機器裡培育了三週。
controlled-equipment use; passive scientific subject
Researchers in Taipei incubate stem cells in special dishes before injecting them into damaged tissue.
台北的研究員會先在特殊培養皿裡培育幹細胞，再注入受損的組織。
transitive: incubate + cells + in [container]
After mixing the enzyme with the blood sample, Antonia incubated the mixture for thirty minutes.
Antonia 把酵素跟血液樣本混合後，把這份混合液培養了三十分鐘。
chemistry lab usage; incubate + mixture + for [duration]
- incubate the sample
- incubate at [temperature]
- incubate the culture
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
醞釀；孕育
想法或計畫在暗中慢慢成形的過程
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.
Kemi 讓這個故事構想醞釀了好幾個月，才開始寫第一章。
intransitive: [idea] + incubate; informal extended meaning
The university programme incubates ten student start-ups each year with free office space and advice.
這所大學的計畫每年會孕育十個學生創業團隊，提供免費的辦公空間跟建議。
transitive: [place] + incubate + [start-ups]
Many of Taipei's best small restaurants were incubated inside the night market food stalls.
台北許多最棒的小餐館，最初都是在夜市的小攤位裡孕育出來的。
passive: be incubated + inside [place]
Gabriel and Wren spent two years incubating a plan to open a small neighbourhood bookstore.
Gabriel 跟 Wren 花了兩年醞釀一個計畫，打算在一條安靜的街上開一間書店。
transitive: [person] + incubate + [plan]; figurative
- incubate an idea
- incubate a start-up
- incubate a plan
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).
常見錯誤
同根字
- incubation名詞C1
- incubator名詞B2