gestate

[jes-teyt]

verb (used with object)

gestated, gestating 

1. to carry in the womb during the period from conception to delivery.

2. to think of and develop (an idea, opinion, plan, etc.) slowly in the mind.

verb (used without object)

gestated, gestating 

1. to experience the process of gestating offspring.

2. to develop slowly.

gestate

/ ˈdʒɛsteɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to carry (developing young) in the uterus during pregnancy

2. (tr) to develop (a plan or idea) in the mind

3. (intr) to be in the process of gestating

Word History and Origins

Origin of gestate¹

First recorded in 1865–70; from Latin gestātus, past participle of gestāre “to carry about, carry in the womb,” frequentative of gerere “to bear, perform”

Word History and Origins

Origin of gestate¹

C19: back formation from _gestation

Example Sentences

Brown began researching robots and robotics, and slowly the story gestated in his mind.

From Los Angeles Times

“Burt,” his second feature, was shot over seven days for $7,000, though the project had been gestating for seven years by the time cameras rolled.

From Los Angeles Times

As female cicadas lay eggs that gestate for the next 13 or 17 years, it can cause short-term damage to some trees and shrubs.

From New York Times

Three clinics stopped IVF services because of the civil liability concerns raised by the ruling, which treated a frozen embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under Alabama’s wrongful death law.

From Seattle Times

The majority ruling of Alabama’s Supreme Court treats an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the state’s wrongful death law, explicitly stating “unborn children are ‘children.’”

From Seattle Times