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incubate (third-person singular simple presentincubates, present participleincubating, simple past and past participleincubated)
(transitive) To brood, raise, or maintain eggs, organisms, or living tissue through the provision of ideal environmental conditions.
1907, “Nesting Habits of the Passenger Pigeon”, in W. B. Mershon, editor, The Passenger Pigeon:
The places where the birds are nesting are interesting spots to visit. Both parents incubate and the scene is animated as the birds fly about in all directions.
1975, Catherine Marshall, Adventures in Prayer, New York: Ballantine Books, page 46:
Part of our problem in praying for our children, he suggested, is the time lage, the necessary slow maturation of our prayers. But that's the way of God's rhythm in nature. For instance, the hen must patiently sit on her eggs to incubate them before the baby chicks hatch.
It was a habit he developed, of incubating and maturing his thought upon a subject, and of then rushing into the type-writer with it.
1992, Sheila Davis, The Songwriters Idea Book: 40 Strategies to Excite Your Imagination, Help You Design Distinctive Songs, and Keep Your Creative Flow, Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, page 96:
When you've got your theme–let the concept incubate. Walk around with it, sleep on it.