What does incorporate mean?
To incorporate something is to combine it with other elements so that it becomes part of a larger whole, or to include it in a plan, document, or system. The word is common in professional, academic, legal, and administrative contexts, especially when describing changes, feedback, provisions, or features that are integrated into an existing framework. For example, a designer may incorporate local materials into a building, while an editor may incorporate comments into a manuscript. Its basic sense comes from the idea of forming or joining into a body. Although it can sometimes suggest merely adding information, its usual implication is that the added element is genuinely integrated rather than simply appended or mentioned. The word is also used in business language when one organization or body is taken into another.
verbTo combine or integrate something with other things so that it becomes part of a larger whole. It can also mean to include something in a plan, document, or body of work.
- To combine something with other things so that it becomes part of a larger whole.
- To include or integrate something in a plan, document, or system.
"The committee decided to incorporate the community's suggestions into the final proposal."
"The new design incorporates several traditional elements."
"Please incorporate the editor's comments before submitting the final manuscript."
Incorporate comes from the Latin word for the body: the idea is to make something part of a larger body or whole.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of incorporate
The word comes from Latin incorporare, meaning “to form into a body” or “embody.” It was built from in- (“into” or “within”) and corpus (“body”), the same source of English words such as corporate, corpse, and corpus. The verb entered English in the 16th century in the sense of forming into a body or uniting with a body, and its modern meanings developed from the idea of joining elements into an organized whole.
Related word forms
How incorporate is actually used
The word is formal but widely used in professional, academic, and administrative contexts. It often implies making something an integral part of a larger whole rather than merely mentioning it.