Incubator

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ɪn.kjuːˈbeɪ.tÉ™(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -eɪtÉ™(ɹ)

Origin

incubate + -ator

Full definition of incubator

Noun

1. (chemistry) Any apparatus used to maintain environmental conditions suitable for a reaction.
2. (medicine) An apparatus used to maintain environmental conditions suitable for a newborn baby.
3. An apparatus used to maintain environmental conditions suitable for the hatching of eggs.
4. A place to maintain the culturing of bacteria at a steady temperature.
5. (business) A support programme for the development of entrepreneurial companies.
• 2006, Philip N. Cooke, Creative Industries in Wales: Potential and Pitfalls (page 34)So the question that is commonly asked is, why put a media incubator in a media desert and have it managed by a civil servant? This gets to the heart of the institutional support problem in Wales.

Synonyms

• (apparatus used to maintain environmental conditions suitable for a newborn baby) brooder
• (apparatus used to maintain environmental conditions suitable for the hatching of eggs) brooder

Related terms

• incubate
• incubation
• incubative