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incubator

UK/ˈɪn.kjuːˌbeɪ.tə(ɹ)/US[ˈɪn.kjuːˌbeɪ.ɾɚ]
nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #8,315 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: incubators

An incubator is the warmed case a very small baby is cared for in. In an incubator, out of the incubator, an incubator ward.

It holds temperature and humidity steady and keeps infection out, because a baby born very early cannot hold its own temperature at all. The word also names a warm cabinet for growing bacteria, and a scheme that houses young companies.

Amuzujoe · CC BY-SA 4.0

Definitions of incubator

  1. 1nounincubatorThe warmed case a very small baby is cared for in.B2+

    “The premature baby spent her first weeks in an incubator.”

incubator is a device.

Where it comes from

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *ḱewb-

  2. Latin

    incubātus

  3. English

    incubate

  4. English, today

    incubator

Built from

  • incubō · Latin — to hatch
  • in- · Latin — in
  • cubō · Latin — to lie

From incubate + -or. incubate 1641; Latin incubātus, an alternative to incubitus, perfect passive participle of incubō (“to hatch”) (see -ate and -ate), from in- (“in”) + cubō (“to lie”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Babies & Growing Up

Practise this word

incubator in the wild

  • The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) defines business incubators as a tool for either regional or national economic development.

    Business incubator

  • The incubator maintains optimal temperature, humidity and other conditions such as the CO2 and oxygen content of the atmosphere inside.

    Incubator (culture)

  • An incubator is made up of a chamber with a regulated temperature.

    Incubator (culture)

  • The common names of the incubator in other terms include breeding / hatching machines or hatchers, setters, and egg breeding / equipment.

    Incubator (egg)

  • There are several important factors to consider when using an incubator, the most critical being its ability to maintain steady and consistent temperature throughout the entire incubation period.

    Incubator (egg)

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

Related words

the cubō family

incubator

incubator — used about once every 3,333 pages · #8,315 · point at the bar for the others