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do•mes•ti•cate

Pronunciation: (du-mes'ti-kāt"), [key]
—v., -cat•ed, -cat•ing.

—v.t.
1. to convert (animals, plants, etc.) to domestic uses; tame.
2. to tame (an animal), esp. 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.

—v.i.
to be domestic.

domestic animal

domestic fowl

See also:

domesticate (Thesaurus)

Dictionary

do•mes•ti•cate

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