CEFR C1

domesticate

verb

Meaning

Tame an animal or cultivate a plant to live in close association with humans for work, food, or companionship.

Examples

Early civilizations began to domesticate wild grasses like wheat to ensure a steady food supply.
It is nearly impossible to domesticate certain wild animals, such as zebras, due to their aggressive temperaments.

Synonyms: tame, cultivate, break, naturalize

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domesticate (C1)

verb

Pronunciation: /dəˈmɛstɪkeɪt/

Definition

Tame an animal or cultivate a plant to live in close association with humans for work, food, or companionship.

Examples

Early civilizations began to domesticate wild grasses like wheat to ensure a steady food supply.
It is nearly impossible to domesticate certain wild animals, such as zebras, due to their aggressive temperaments.
The process to domesticate livestock required selective breeding over many generations.

How to Use domesticate

domesticate [animal/plant] (collocation): The standard transitive use of the verb. — "Humans were the first to domesticate the horse."
be domesticated by [agent] (collocation): Used in the passive voice to describe the historical process. — "Many crops were domesticated by ancient farmers in the Fertile Crescent."

Synonyms of domesticate

Words with a similar meaning to domesticate:

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