incubation

Meaning

1. (countable, uncountable) Sitting on eggs for the purpose of hatching young; a brooding on, or keeping warm, to develop the life within, by any process.
2. (countable, uncountable) The development of a disease from its causes, or the period of such development.
3. (countable, uncountable) A period of little reaction which is followed by more rapid reaction.
4. (countable, uncountable) One of the four proposed stages of creativity (preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification): the unconscious recombination of thought elements that were stimulated through conscious work at one point in time, resulting in novel ideas at a later point.
5. (countable, uncountable) Sleeping in a temple or other holy place in order to have oracular dreams or to receive healing.

Synonyms

hatching

brooding

hatch

incubation period

latent

concealment

hiding

ambush

latent period

virtual

eclosion

hatching out

latent phase

breeding

brood

cultivation

fomentation

germination

hide

latency

Translations

incubation

incubación

incubazione

incubação

Inkubation

incubació

Ausbrüten

incubatie

επώαση

Brüten

kuluçkaya yatma

tasarlama

Verstecken

Verbergen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɪnkjuːˈbeɪʃən/

Etymology

From Latin incubātiō, from incubō (“to lie on”).