gestate

/ˌdʒɛˈsteɪt/

Other forms: gestating; gestated; gestates

It's unclear just how long it took for the idea for the website to gestate. Did he think of it right away, or did it take months for him to come up with the idea?

When something is gestating, it's literally in the womb, developing into whatever it will be when it's finally born. Other things besides living organisms can gestate, however. Frequently, gestate is used to refer to ideas and plans while they're in the development phase. The idea for a new way to market music to a generation of kids who expect it to be free was gestating for years before iTunes was launched. A gestation period is the time it takes for something to be born. Humans, for example, gestate for nine months.

Definitions of gestate

1. verb

   be pregnant with
   synonyms: bear, carry, expect, have a bun in the oven

   bear, birth, deliver, give birth, have

   cause to be born

   expect

   look forward to the birth of a child

   type of:

   bear, birth, deliver, give birth, have

   cause to be born
2. verb

   have the idea for
   synonyms: conceive, conceptualise, conceptualize

   types:

   design

   conceive or fashion in the mind; invent

   preconceive

   conceive beforehand

   discover, find

   make a discovery, make a new finding

   type of:

   create by mental act, create mentally

   create mentally and abstractly rather than with one's hands