From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgestationges‧ta‧tion /dʒeˈsteɪʃən/ noun [singular, uncountable] 1 medicalHBAMB the process by which a child or young animal develops inside its mother’s body before birth, or the period of time when this happens → pregnancy The gestation period of a horse is about 11 months.2 formal the process by which a new idea, piece of work etc is developed, or the period of time when this happens SYN developmentin gestation The report was a very long time in gestation.
Examples from the Corpus
gestation• Females give birth to as many as five offspring in late winter, after a gestation period of up to 10 months.• But it was a long gestation, and a fierce debate still simmers about when and where the birth actually took place.• To get to the pay review body involved an interesting and long gestation period by Ministers.• Traditional design is a complex process of adaptation and assimilation in a perpetual act of gestation.• Then, nine months of gestation later, an opportunity crops up out of the blue, or so it seems.• The gestation of the biotechnology industry has been rather short.• Other cloned animals grow huge, and often sickly, during their gestation.• Intrinsic factor and hydrogen-potassium ATPase activity were found in all specimens, including those of 13 and 15 weeks' gestation.gestation period• A single foal is born after a gestation period of a year.• Females give birth to as many as five offspring in late winter, after a gestation period of up to 10 months.• This is hardly surprising, since its gestation period comprised the years in which Eliot was working on the Notes.• To get to the pay review body involved an interesting and long gestation period by Ministers.• Humans have a nine-month gestation period.• It seems that the nine-month gestation period has a psychological as well as a physical reality in human life.• An elephant's gestation period is almost two years.• As work continues to reduce the gestation period at which screening tests can be conducted, the practical problems will decrease.• The gestation period from first inquiry to first completed shipment is rarely less than a couple of years.• Super-SARA has had a long and troubled gestation period.Origin gestation (1500-1600) Latin gestatio, from gestare “to bear” 