# incubation

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪnkjuːˈbeɪʃən/ · frequency rank #23,869

## Definitions
1. Sitting on eggs for the purpose of hatching young; a brooding on, or keeping warm, to develop the life within, by any process.
2. The development of a disease from its causes, or the period of such development.
3. A period of little reaction which is followed by more rapid reaction.
4. One of the four proposed stages of creativity (preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification): the unconscious recombination of thought elements that were stimulated through conscious work at one point in time, resulting in novel ideas at a later point.
5. Sleeping in a temple or other holy place in order to have oracular dreams or to receive healing.

## Etymology
From Latin incubātiō, from incubō (“to lie on”).

## Easily confused with
- **incubator** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/incubation-vs-incubator)
- **insulation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/incubation-vs-insulation)
- **inoculation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/incubation-vs-inoculation)

## Common misspellings (15)
`icnubation`, `incbuation`, `inccubation`, `incuabtion`, `incubaiton`, `incubasion`, `incubatino`, `incubationn`, `incubatoin`, `incubattion`, `incubbation`, `incubtaion`, `inncubation`, `inucbation`, `nicubation`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/incubation