verb / noun
hatch
HATCH/hætʃ/
To bring young life out of an egg.
A chick hatches from its egg beneath the mother hen.
Etymology
Middle English hachen described producing young by incubating eggs. The meaning later focused on the result—young coming out of an egg, or being caused to come out; the verb's deeper origin is unknown.
In context
when the first egg is laid the first chick to hatch will sometimes be noticeably larger than its siblings when the chicks first hatch out they are covered in a layer of fluffy white down
More examples
- We use an incubator to hatch the duck eggs.
- This hatch of chicks includes three with black feathers.
- The children hatch a secret plan to surprise their parents.
Forms
hatch · hatches · hatched · hatching
hatchling noun — A young animal newly emerged from an egg.
hatchery noun — A place where eggs are hatched.