Meaning & use
gestation
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Meanings
noununcountablebiology
The period of time during which a baby or young animal develops inside its mother before birth.
Grammar: Usually uncountable; often used with period: the gestation period.
Patterns
- the gestation of something
- a gestation period of something
The gestation period for an elephant is almost two years.
Doctors monitor the baby closely during the later weeks of gestation.
Gestation in mice lasts only about three weeks.
noununcountablefigurativeformal
The slow stage in which an idea, plan or piece of work is formed and developed before it is ready.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and followed by of or a phrase like in gestation.
Patterns
- the gestation of something
- something is in gestation
The gestation of the novel took nearly a decade.
The new policy had a long gestation inside the ministry.
Her business idea was still in gestation when she quit her job.
Word forms
| plural | gestations |
|---|
Common combinations
- gestation period
- The gestation period for a cow is about nine months.
- a long gestation
- The film had a long gestation before cameras rolled.
- human gestation
- Human gestation is usually counted as forty weeks.
- during gestation
- The mother needs extra food during gestation.
- in gestation
- Several new products are in gestation at the lab.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pregnancy
- Pregnancy is the everyday word for the state of carrying a baby, while gestation is more technical and focuses on the length of the development period.
- incubation
- Incubation describes eggs being kept warm or a disease developing, whereas gestation is for young developing inside the mother.
- development
- Development is a broad word for any growth, while gestation suggests a hidden, slow stage before something appears.
Word family
- gestate verb
- to carry young in the womb, or for an idea to develop slowly
- gestational adjective
- relating to gestation, as in gestational diabetes
- gestating adjective
- currently developing before birth or completion
Commonly confused: gestation or gesture?
gestation vs gesture
A gesture is a movement or action that expresses a feeling; it only sounds similar to gestation.
Practice
The ___ of the project lasted three years before the first prototype appeared.
Choose one answer.
Gestation can mean the long, slow forming of an idea or project. Gesture and suggestion do not describe a development period, and digestion is about food.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gestation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.