as in pregnancy
the state of containing unborn young within the body the length of gestation for the gray wolf is about 63 days

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gestation Trying out their research on mice was easier than doing so on elephants—for one thing, the average gestation period for a mouse is three weeks, whereas an elephant’s is twenty-two months, the longest of any mammal. D. T. Max, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025 Asian elephants—the extinct woolly mammoth’s closest surviving kin—require 22 months, the longest gestation period of any mammal. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 7 Apr. 2025 Hoffman’s two-toed sloths have a gestation period of around 11.5 months. Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2025 More than 80% of women will choose to terminate a pregnancy with anencephaly when detected before 24 weeks’ gestation, according to data from before the Dobbs decision. Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gestation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gestation
pregnancy
Noun
  • The rumor at the time was that this woman, Heather, had lost her pregnancy.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 May 2025
  • The mom-to-be announced her pregnancy during a local news segment on Fox 13 Wednesday, April 30.
    Rachel McRady, People.com, 2 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Gestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gestation. Accessed 17 May. 2025.

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