You have reached the cached page for https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/domestication

Below is a snapshot of the Web page as it appeared on 1/19/2021 (the last time our crawler visited it). This is the version of the page that was used for ranking your search results. The page may have changed since we last cached it. To see what might have changed (without the highlights), go to the current page.

You searched for: define domestication in world history We have highlighted matching words that appear in the page below.

Bing is not responsible for the content of this page.

Domestication | Definition of Domestication by Merriam-Webster

domestication

noun

Save Word

do·mes·ti·ca·tion | \ də-ˌme-sti-ˈkā-shən

Definition of domestication

: the act or process of domesticating something or someone or the state of being domesticated: such as

a : the adaptation of a plant or animal from a wild or natural state (as by selective breeding) to life in close association with humans Wild and feral dogs are hunters, but domestication and differential breeding have modified breed and individual predatory motivation.— Julia Albright Horse domestication revolutionized transport, communications, and warfare in prehistory, yet the identification of early domestication processes has been problematic.— Alan K. Outram et al.

b : the process of adapting someone or the state of being adapted to domestic life But my father-in-law was also the very soul of domestication and familial responsibility, a man of regular habits who tied up his garbage with the spare lengths of string he collected in a Maxwell House coffee can …— Garret Keizer

c : the adaptation of something to meet the expectations or tastes of ordinary people When you think about it, the whole buzzy excitement surrounding The Aristocrats, with its torrents of obscenity, points to another new phenomenon this summer: the domestication of raunch.— Gregory Kirschling

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about domestication

Dictionary Entries near domestication

domestic architecture

Statistics for domestication

Cite this Entry

“Domestication.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/domestication. Accessed 19 Jan. 2021.