domesticate
verb
do·mes·ti·cate
| \ də-ˈme-sti-ˌkāt
\
\
domesticated;
domesticating
Definition of domesticate
(Entry 1 of 2)
2
: to adapt (an animal or plant) over time from a wild or natural state especially by selective breeding to life in close association with and to the benefit of humans
The Asian equids, including the now-endangered Przewalski's horse, apparently provided the stock from which the horse was domesticated five to six thousand years ago.— Bruce J. MacFadden But every reader addicted to coffee can thank ancient Ethiopian farmers for domesticating the coffee plant.— Jared Diamond
3
: to cause to become adapted to life in a household : to make fit for domestic life
wasn't interested in becoming domesticated
4
: to bring to the level of ordinary people
domesticate
noun
do·mes·ti·cate
| \ də-ˈme-sti-kət
, -ˌkāt\
, -ˌkāt\
Definition of domesticate (Entry 2 of 2)
: a domesticated (see domesticate entry 1 sense 2) animal or plant
Examples of domesticate in a Sentence
Verb
Horses and oxen have been domesticated to work on farms. She jokes that dogs are easier to domesticate than men.Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
As the only known hosts of the parasite, domesticated and feral felines then spread deadly strains into their environment through oocysts—egg-like structures teeming with millions of immature T. gondii—shed in feces. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Parasite Spread by House Cats Is Killing California’s Sea Otters," 30 Aug. 2019 Tomatoes were a crop domesticated by the Aztec Indians. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Carlsbad, Baja chefs aim to heal border rift over the dinner table," 12 July 2019 Immigrants brought art and music, farming and cities, domesticated horses and the wheel. — Andrew Curry, National Geographic, "The first Europeans weren’t who you might think," 12 July 2019 Humans have been tinkering with other species since at least the dawn of civilization, from domesticating dogs to breeding more productive crops. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "3 scientists sped up evolution in a lab. Their work just won a Nobel Prize.," 3 Oct. 2018 During the 33,000 years since dogs were domesticated, humans unconsciously or consciously cared more for dogs that made exaggerated eyebrow movements, allowing the muscle evolve, according to the study. — N'dea Yancey-bragg, USA TODAY, "Dogs may have evolved with 'puppy dog eyes' to communicate with humans, study finds," 17 June 2019 By this rule, domesticated dogs are a single species — whether dachshund or Great Dane — but a donkey and a horse are not. — Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, "What Defines A Species?," 17 Aug. 2018 Our hypothesis is that there was a wolf lineage that dogs were domesticated from that has since gone extinct. — Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, "A Map of Human History, Hidden in DNA," 20 Apr. 2017 Captive Asian elephants are often misinterpreted as domesticated, because they have been kept and trained by humans for thousands of years. — National Geographic, "Asian Elephant," 7 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The idea was first floated in 2016 when a group including University of São Paulo plant physiologist Lázaro Eustáquio Pereira Peres revealed a plan to re-domesticate tomatoes. — Jonathon Keats, Discover Magazine, "A New Green Revolution: Scientists Are Using CRISPR to Re-domesticate Fruits and Vegetables," 15 Apr. 2019 Their brains are smaller than chimpanzees’, a shift also seen in many domesticates. — John Hawks, WSJ, "‘The Goodness Paradox’ Review: The Benefits of Good Breeding," 25 Jan. 2019 So if ants are growing wet habitat-loving fungi, and remove them to a dry habitat, that's sort of like humans taking one of their domesticates out of its native range. — Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian, "How Ants Became the World’s Best Fungus Farmers," 12 Apr. 2017 So if ants are growing wet habitat-loving fungi, and remove them to a dry habitat, that's sort of like humans taking one of their domesticates out of its native range. — Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian, "How Ants Became the World’s Best Fungus Farmers," 12 Apr. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'domesticate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for domesticate
domesticate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of domesticate
: to breed or train (an animal) to need and accept the care of human beings : to tame (an animal)
: to grow (a plant) for human use
humorous
: to train (someone) to behave in an appropriate way at home (such as by using good manners, being polite, being helpful, etc.)
See the full definition for domesticate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
domesticate
verb
do·mes·ti·cate
| \ də-ˈme-sti-ˌkāt
\
\
domesticated;
domesticating
Kids Definition of domesticate
: to bring under the control of and make usable by humans
Humans domesticated dogs thousands of years ago.
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