incubation period

noun

, Pathology.

1. the period between infection and the appearance of signs of a disease.

incubation period

noun

1. med the time between exposure to an infectious disease and the appearance of the first signs or symptoms Sometimes shortened toincubation

incubation period

1. The amount of time it takes for symptoms of a disease to appear after an individual is infected ( see infection ) with the pathogen that causes the disease.

Word History and Origins

Origin of incubation period¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Listeria is unusually hard to trace after an outbreak because it has a long incubation period — the CDC says it can take up to 10 weeks for some people to develop symptoms.

From Los Angeles Times

In February, Florida surgeon general Joseph Ladapo was met with backlash when he left it up to parents to decide if their child should go to school, going against the CDC’s recommendation to keep unvaccinated children home for the length of the incubation period for measles.

From Salon

The pair were married three years later, and Feminella launched his dating app First Round’s on Me nationwide in August after a four-year incubation period.

From Los Angeles Times

Steve Lyle, an agriculture department spokesman, said the agency’s call to to test dairies within six miles of infected herds, as well dairies that share share personnel or equipment with infected herds, has allowed officials to detect infected dairies “at about the time or just before they are showing clinical signs –- during their incubation period.”

From Los Angeles Times

And warmer water decreases the incubation period for C. melanura eggs, leading one study to conclude that warmer-than-average water temperatures “increase the probability for amplification of EEE.”

From Salon