incubates

verb

present tense third-person singular of incubate
1
as in sits
to cover and warm eggs as the young inside develop the hen incubated her eggs for two weeks

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in promotes
to help the growth or development of hopefully, these youthful visits to the museum will incubate an enduring love of art

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of incubates Echidnas, similar to the platypus, are monotremes, egg-laying mammals, and typically produce only one egg per breeding season, which incubates in the mother’s pouch, according to the San Diego Wildlife Alliance. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 16 July 2026 That person incubates the virus for five to seven days before becoming infectious to the next mosquito. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026 The Blue Sky group incubates new brands for the company behind Ashley Tisdale’s Being Frenshe. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 6 May 2026 The commission’s Saudi 100 Brands program, now in its fourth year, incubates more than 100 local labels annually. — Ritu Upadhyay, Footwear News, 25 Feb. 2026 While males participate in the nesting process by bringing food; only the female incubates the eggs. — Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incubates
  1. sits
  2. promotes
  3. spawns
  4. cultivates
  5. lays
  6. encourages
  7. broods
  8. nurtures
Verb
  • Motorsport meets nuclear engineering Power conversion sits between the reactor and the electrical grid.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
  • In the next scene, Musk sits at a roundtable with his army of early 20s DOGE staffers, looking on proudly alongside Fox News’ Jesse Watters.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of sits
Verb
  • Key Takeaways Eating three dates in the morning can support blood sugar and digestion throughout the day by providing fiber that slows the absorption of sugar and promotes regular bowel movements.
    — Abby Norman, Verywell Health, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Living according to these rules holds up a divine standard for others to see and follow, which promotes harmony and order between people.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of promotes
Verb
  • Molluscum is caused by a virus and spawns the pimple-like bumps.
    — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But the software wrapped around it reinserts the objective on every turn, stores progress to a file, spawns subagents, retries on failure, and keeps going until a verifier says the task is done.
    — Ashish Bhatia, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of spawns
Verb
  • To avert future calamities, the forest outside Bordeaux must be thinned and its fire breaks widened, said Arthur Guérin-Turcq, a Sorbonne University geographer whose family cultivates pines near Le Porge.
    — Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • In 1840, shade-loving Croomia, which cultivates flowers on the underside of its leaves, was included as a native species.
    — Candace Barone, Florida Times-Union, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of cultivates
Verb
  • But Mizzou lays claim to the title because of several factors, including statistical discrepancies and a Border War game that has drawn lines in the sand for Missouri and Kansas fan bases.
    — PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Their life cycle begins after female and male dragonflies mate and the female dragonfly lays tiny eggs in freshwater.
    — Olga R. Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of lays
Verb
  • The bark can also be stripped from the branch, called girdling, which encourages faster root growth.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Mid-month, however, encourages you to indulge your creativity, rather than forcing big decisions.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of encourages
Verb
  • Set in the evening, the scene broods as an unknown figure, only identifiable by his terrible Lego haircut and furry boots, stomps toward the Stallion Saloon.
    — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 3 June 2026
  • Veteran model Eva Herzigova is pictured in a sculptural skirt suit, while Liu Wen broods in a puffy leather bomber jacket.
    — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of broods
Verb
  • Packed with potent ingredients like isopropyl cloprostenate, amino acids, hyaluronic acid, and vitamin E, this formula nurtures and enhances your brows from the root.
    — Iman Balagam, Vogue, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Parentheses, turning the inside of a sentence out and the outside in, ask readers to shuttle back and forth, exercising mental agility that nurtures a flexible set of thoughts and feelings.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of nurtures

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Cite this Entry

“Incubates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incubates. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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