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INCUBATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Maintaining something at the most favorable temperature for its development
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("incubation" is a kind of...):
aid; attention; care; tending (the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something)
Derivation:
incubate (grow under conditions that promote development)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
Synonyms:
brooding; incubation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("incubation" is a kind of...):
birth; birthing; giving birth; parturition (the process of giving birth)
Derivation:
incubate (sit on (eggs))
Sense 3
Meaning:
(pathology) the phase in the development of an infection between the time a pathogen enters the body and the time the first symptoms appear
Classified under:
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations
Hypernyms ("incubation" is a kind of...):
phase; stage (any distinct time period in a sequence of events)
Domain category:
pathology (the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases)
Holonyms ("incubation" is a part of...):
infection (the pathological state resulting from the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms)
Derivation:
incubate (grow under conditions that promote development)
