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   incubate

   /ˈɪŋkjʊbeɪt/

   verb

   • 1. (of a bird) sit on (eggs) in order to keep them warm and bring them to hatching.
   • ▪ (in a laboratory or other controlled situation) keep (eggs, bacteria, embryos, etc.) at a suitable temperature so that they develop: "the samples were incubated at 80°C for 3 minutes"
   • ▪ give support and aid the development of (a new small business). North American
   • 2. be developing an infectious disease before symptoms appear: "the possibility that she was incubating early syphilis"
   • ▪ develop slowly without outward or perceptible signs: "the BSE bug incubates for around three years"

   Word Origin mid 17th century: from Latin incubat- ‘lain on’, from the verb incubare, from in- ‘upon’ + cubare ‘to lie’.

   Scrabble Points: 12

   • I

     1

   • N

     1

   • C

     3

   • U

     1

   • B

     3

   • A

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

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