To domesticate an animal means to tame it over many generations until it becomes comfortable living with humans and depends on them for food and shelter. Dogs were the first domesticated animals, descended from wolves that started living near human camps thousands of years ago. Over countless generations, the friendliest wolves had the most puppies, and gradually these animals became the loyal dogs we know today.

Domestication isn't the same as taming a single wild animal. When you domesticate a species, you're changing it through selective breeding over hundreds or even thousands of years. Farmers domesticated cattle, pigs, and chickens so they would provide meat, milk, and eggs reliably. People domesticated horses for transportation and work. Cats probably domesticated themselves by hanging around human grain stores to hunt mice.

Domesticated animals look and act different from their wild ancestors. Compare a golden retriever to a wolf, or a plump farm chicken to a wild junglefowl. Domestication changes animals' size, color, behavior, and even the shape of their ears and tails.

People sometimes use domesticate playfully to mean making something wild or unruly more manageable, like saying you need to domesticate your messy bedroom. But true domestication is a profound biological change that happens only across many, many generations.