decontaminate

American  

[dee-kuhn-tam-uh-neyt] / ˌdi kənˈtæm əˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

decontaminated, decontaminating

1. to make (an object or area) safe for unprotected personnel by removing, neutralizing, or destroying any harmful substance, as radioactive material or poisonous gas.

2. to make free of contamination; purify.

   to decontaminate a sickroom.

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decontaminate British  

/ ˌdiːkənˈtæmɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to render (an area, building, object, etc) harmless by the removal, distribution, or neutralization of poisons, radioactivity, etc

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Other Word Forms

• decontaminant
  noun
• decontamination
  noun
• decontaminative
  adjective
• decontaminator
  noun

Etymology

Origin of decontaminate

First recorded in 1935–40; de- + contaminate

Explanation

To decontaminate is to clean something that's been poisoned or polluted. After last week's chemical spill, your chemist mom can't go back to the lab until they decontaminate the building. When something is contaminated, it's made unsafe for humans (and other living things) due to some kind of poison or impurity. Workers have to decontaminate, or remove the contamination, after a disaster at a nuclear reactor produces radioactivity. An oil spill in the ocean requires a different type of decontamination. Hospital cleaners also have to decontaminate areas where patients with infectious diseases have been, scrubbing surfaces and filtering the air.

Related Words

• cleanse
• disinfect
• fumigate
• sanitize
• sterilize