contaminate
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
adjective
verb
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to make impure, esp by touching or mixing; pollute
-
to make radioactive by the addition of radioactive material
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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contaminantnoun
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contaminatornoun
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recontaminateverb (used with object)
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contaminableadjective
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contaminativeadjective
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contaminousadjective
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noncontaminableadjective
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noncontaminativeadjective
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self-contaminatingadjective
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uncontaminableadjective
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uncontaminatedadjective
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uncontaminativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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contaminatesimple
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contaminatessimple
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have contaminatedperfect
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has contaminatedperfect
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am contaminatingprogressive
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are contaminatingprogressive
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is contaminatingprogressive
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have been contaminatingperfect progressive
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has been contaminatingperfect progressive
Past
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contaminatedsimple
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had contaminatedperfect
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was contaminatingprogressive
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were contaminatingprogressive
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had been contaminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of contaminate
1375–1425; late Middle English contaminaten < Latin contāminātus, past participle of contāmināre to defile, spoil, equivalent to con- con- + -tāminare, verbal derivative of *tāmen something touched < *tag-s-men, equivalent to tag-, variant stem of tangere to touch + -s-men resultative noun suffix; cf. examen
Explanation
The verb contaminate means the same as pollute. Whether it’s food, air, or water, when you contaminate something, you make it impure or hazardous. Contaminate comes from the Latin word contaminat-, meaning “made impure.” You can use the word to indicate that a hazardous substance has been introduced into something else, such as food that is contaminated with mold. It can also be used figuratively to describe the spoiling of a good thing, like one person's habit of gossiping that can contaminate a conversation among friends.
Vocabulary lists containing contaminate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In a statement Mid Ulster Council said: "Decomposing remains can spread disease, attract vermin, and contaminate land and water, and this kind of behaviour is a clear breach of environmental law."
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
They wonder if toxic materials could leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater, if not while the solar site is operational, then some decades in the future, when it reaches the end of its life.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2026
The seemingly limitless proliferation of cases in which lawyers have been caught letting fictitious AI-generated legal citations contaminate their briefs continues to amaze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
The European Medicines Agency has previously warned that these substances could contaminate ecosystems, although detailed information about how much of the drugs enter the environment remains limited.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2026
They do not, as one might expect, fall to their knees and kiss the carrier deck; this would violate, intrude upon, contaminate the deck, the vessel, the sea around, the whole earth.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
“If a worker contaminates lettuce, that lettuce will likely be eaten before it becomes infectious,” Todd said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The production of PFAS-coated pans also exposes factory workers to those chemicals, and the wastewater from factories like those are what contaminates waterways, landfills and, in some cases, farmland.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024
He said other contaminates — food waste, dyes, adhesives, etc. — could also potentially cause problems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2024
Water shortages are not new, but many countries, especially in the global south, are experiencing climate change-related intense drought and flooding that contaminates water sources.
From BBC ● May 27, 2024
The advantage of the latter is that no contamination is possible by the water itself, whereas in washing out the disinfectant the water, unless pure, contaminates the surface again.
From Rural Hygiene by Ogden, Henry N. (Henry Neely)
The report also said free-range egg production should be discouraged in affected areas, and that there should be periodic potato testing in contaminated places too.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The first approach uses hydrodynamic cavitation, which creates and collapses tiny vapor bubbles in contaminated water.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
It would involve continued isolation of contaminated areas to prevent student contact and the removal of toxins through phytoremediation, an emerging technology that uses plants known to absorb toxins from the soil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Taylor voluntarily recalled the potentially contaminated onions, which were served to McDonald’s customers across 12 states.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
How could intelligent beings seek to control a few unwanted species by a method that contaminated the entire environment and brought the threat of disease and death even to their own kind?
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Researchers found that methane released in spacecraft exhaust may spread across the moon surprisingly quickly, potentially contaminating regions that could preserve ancient chemical clues about how life first emerged on Earth.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
Damage to oil facilities "risks contaminating food, water and air – hazards that can have severe health impacts especially on children, older people, and people with pre existing medical conditions", said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
The firestorm ravaged Pacific Palisades and Altadena, killing 31, destroying more than 16,000 structures and contaminating others with toxins and heavy metals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Particles emitted from a fusion plasma will erode the reactor wall, contaminating the plasma and rendering most known materials brittle and porous within months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
HeLa cells are still contaminating other cultures and causing an estimated several million dollars in damage each year.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
