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View synonyms for

domesticate

[duh-mes-ti-keyt]

verb (used with object)

domesticated, domesticating 
  1. to convert (animals, plants, etc.) to domestic uses; tame.

  2. to tame (an animal), especially by generations of breeding, to live in close association with human beings as a pet or work animal and usually creating a dependency so that the animal loses its ability to live in the wild.

  3. to adapt (a plant) so as to be cultivated by and beneficial to human beings.

  4. to accustom to household life or affairs.

  5. to take (something foreign, unfamiliar, etc.) for one's own use or purposes; adopt.

  6. to make more ordinary, familiar, acceptable, or the like.

    to domesticate radical ideas.



verb (used without object)

domesticated, domesticating 
  1. to be domestic.

domesticate

/ dəˈmɛstɪˌsaɪz, dəˈmɛstɪˌkeɪt /

verb

  1. to bring or keep (wild animals or plants) under control or cultivation

  2. to accustom to home life

  3. to adapt to an environment

    to domesticate foreign trees

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • domesticable adjective
  • domestication noun
  • domesticative adjective
  • domesticator noun
  • nondomesticated adjective
  • nondomesticating adjective
  • overdomesticate verb (used with object)
  • undomesticable adjective
  • undomesticated adjective
  • well-domesticated adjective
  • ˌپˈپDz noun
  • ˈپˌٴǰ noun
  • ˈپ adjective
  • ˈپپ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of domesticate1

First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin dzپٳܲ (past participle of dzپ ), equivalent to domestic- domestic + -ٳܲ -ate 1
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

And no matter how hard wildlife officials try to direct them toward their natural prey, the wolves seem to find the domesticated cattle wandering through open pastures a lot more appealing.

From

To start, they’re believed to be the first domesticated food crop, with their earliest cultivation dating back 10,000 years in the Fertile Crescent.

From

Honeybees are essentially domesticated insects, and in fact are far less endangered than many of the species they are now pushing out.

From

"I think that photographs help to capture how cute rats really are and show a different side to them, and that domesticated rats are in fact very different to their wild counterpart," she added.

From

Donkeys or wild burros are descended from domesticated donkeys left behind by gold miners more than a century ago.

From

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domestic animaldomestication