Word
gestation
Phoneticsges·ta·tion
US/dʒɛˈsteɪʃən/
UK/dʒɛstˈeɪʃən/
Definition
n. the time it takes for a baby to grow inside its mother's body before it is born. It can also mean the time it takes for an idea to develop until it is ready to be shared.
n. the period of development from conception to birth in mammals; by extension, the period of time required for an idea or project to mature and become viable.
Examples
“The average human gestation lasts about nine months.”
“The project went through a long gestation period before the team finally presented the final design to the board.”
“While the biological gestation of a child is relatively predictable, the gestation of a revolutionary scientific theory often spans decades of quiet research and failed experiments.”
Examples
simple
“The average human gestation lasts about nine months.”
contextual
“The project went through a long gestation period before the team finally presented the final design to the board.”
complex
“While the biological gestation of a child is relatively predictable, the gestation of a revolutionary scientific theory often spans decades of quiet research and failed experiments.”
Real-World Examples
“Human neurons mature much more slowly than those of mice and may not form the connections that are needed quickly enough for an animal that only requires 21 days of gestation.” “The biggest ideas have the longest timeframe and, perhaps, the greatest need for a lengthy debate in their gestation.” Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin gestātiō.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/gestation