Gestate
//d͡ʒɛsˈteɪt// verb
verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To carry offspring in the uterus from conception to delivery. intransitive
"In the early 1960s, a study was conducted in which gestating rats were given diets containing the same mineral content of mineral salts or amino acid chelates."
- 2 be pregnant with wordnet
- 3 To develop an idea. broadly, intransitive
"Philip wondered at that five-year gap. Perhaps it simply proved that a work of genius takes longer to gestate than a work of mere competent brilliance."
- 4 have the idea for wordnet
Example
More examples"In the early 1960s, a study was conducted in which gestating rats were given diets containing the same mineral content of mineral salts or amino acid chelates."
Etymology
Back-formation from gestation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix).
More for "gestate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.