domesticate

[ duh-mes-ti-keyt ]
See synonyms for domesticate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.
  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.

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

  2. to accustom to household life or affairs.

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

  4. to make more ordinary, familiar, acceptable, or the like: to domesticate radical ideas.

verb (used without object),do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.
  1. to be domestic.

Origin of domesticate

1
First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin domesticātus (past participle of domesticāre ), equivalent to domestic- domestic + -ātus -ate1

Other words from domesticate

  • do·mes·ti·ca·ble [duh-mes-ti-kuh-buhl], /dəˈmɛs tɪ kə bəl/, adjective
  • do·mes·ti·ca·tion [duh-mes-ti-key-shuhn], /dəˌmɛs tɪˈkeɪ ʃən/, noun
  • do·mes·ti·ca·tive, adjective
  • do·mes·ti·ca·tor, noun
  • non·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjective
  • non·do·mes·ti·cat·ing, adjective
  • o·ver·do·mes·ti·cate, verb (used with object), o·ver·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, o·ver·do·mes·ti·cat·ing.
  • un·do·mes·ti·ca·ble, adjective
  • un·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjective
  • well-do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for domesticate

domesticate

sometimes US domesticize (dəˈmɛstɪˌsaɪz)

/ (dəˈmɛstɪˌkeɪt) /


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

  2. to accustom to home life

  1. to adapt to an environment: to domesticate foreign trees

Derived forms of domesticate

  • domesticable, adjective
  • domestication, noun
  • domesticative, adjective
  • domesticator, noun

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