incubation

/,inkju'beiʃn/

Thân thiện

A mother bird sits on her eggs during incubation.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act or process of sitting on eggs to hatch them by bodily warmth: This refers to the natural or artificial maintenance of eggs at optimal temperatures for embryonic development until hatching.
   • (Pathology) The period between infection and the appearance of symptoms: This is the phase in the development of a disease when a pathogen is present and multiplying in the body but has not yet caused noticeable signs of illness.
   • The maintenance of something under controlled conditions for development: This describes the act of keeping something, such as a culture, idea, or project, in a favorable environment to promote its growth or development.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The incubation of the eggs by the mother bird lasted for three weeks.
  • The incubation period for the common cold is typically one to three days.
  • The business idea required a long incubation in a supportive environment before it was ready to launch.

Advanced Usage

• "Period of incubation": A common phrase specifying the duration of the pre-symptomatic phase of a disease.
  • The virus has a long period of incubation, making it difficult to trace.
• "Under incubation": Describes something being actively maintained in a controlled, developmental state.
  • The bacterial samples are under incubation at 37 degrees Celsius.

Variants and Related Words

• Incubate (verb): To undergo or cause to undergo the process of incubation.
  • The hen will incubate her clutch of eggs.
  • Scientists incubate the cells in a sterile medium.
• Incubator (noun): An apparatus for providing a controlled environment for incubation (e.g., for premature babies, eggs, or bacterial cultures).
  • The newborn was placed in an incubator.

Synonyms

• Hatching (for the egg-related sense).
• Latent period or prodromal stage (for the medical sense).
• Nurturing, cultivation, development (for the general developmental sense).

Related Phrases

• Incubation time: Synonymous with incubation period, especially in scientific contexts.
  • The experiment recorded the incubation time for the mold.
• Artificial incubation: The process of hatching eggs using an artificial heat source instead of a parent.
  • The poultry farm relies on artificial incubation.

Related Idioms

• In the incubation stage: Used metaphorically to describe an idea or project that is still being developed and is not yet public or fully formed.
  • Our new marketing strategy is still in the incubation stage; we'll share details next month.

Học thuật

Noun

1. sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
2. (pathology) the phase in the development of an infection between the time a pathogen enters the body and the time the first symptoms appear
3. maintaining something at the most favorable temperature for its development

Từ đồng nghĩa

• brooding