aerosolize

American  

[air-uh-saw-lahyz, -so-] / ˈɛər ə sɔˌlaɪz, -sɒ- /

especially British, aerosolise

verb (used with object)

aerosolized, aerosolizing

1. to disperse or discharge as an aerosol.

   a liquid that is too thick to aerosolize;

   techniques that aerosolize the fuel prior to combustion.

2. Physiology, Pathology. to release (the droplets, or fine particles, within one’s respiratory system) into the air as part of the process of talking, breathing, whistling, coughing, sneezing, etc..

   Even when you sing, you’re aerosolizing particles from your respiratory tract.

   With every cough and sneeze, the infected person profusely aerosolizes viral pathogens.

3. to contain or pack in aerosol form.

   Now I’ve heard everything—they’ve aerosolized coffee that I can just spray into my cream.

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Other Word Forms

• aerosolization
  noun

Etymology

Origin of aerosolize

First recorded in 1940–45; aerosol + -ize

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aerosolize aerosolized aerosolizing

In the “dairy parlors” that commercial farms use to milk cows, floors are often cleaned using high-pressure water sprayers, which could aerosolize the virus, he notes.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 1, 2024

A few days later the two men attended an Earth Day event in San Francisco, where they helped children launch their own small balloons, coated with chalk dust, which could aerosolize.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 20, 2023

In their study, published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology, the researchers found a way to successfully aerosolize the particles so they could see what happened to them when inhaled.

From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2023

“You might already be infectious, and that’s potentially because the virus now is just so able to potentially aerosolize and get out of people at lower amounts.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2022

But on March 10, with supplies dwindling, the C.D.C. announced that less protective surgical masks were “an acceptable alternative” except during procedures that might aerosolize the virus.

From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2020

With COVID, people could get sick just by breathing in aerosolized viral particles floating around and pushed across an entire room by an air conditioning vent.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

And even craft that burn up completely might cause harm; researchers are concerned that the aerosolized metal could be damaging the ozone layer, reversing years of progress in protecting it.

From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2025

The flu virus could become aerosolized when milking parlors are cleaned with high-pressure hoses.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 25, 2024

When ready to mate, females release a plume of aerosolized alkaloids derived from the plants they ate as caterpillars.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2024

She lifts the mask off her face and a white puff of aerosolized medicine dissipates in front of her.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

But scientists and physicians quibble about everything else that could be an aerosolizing procedure: nebulizer treatments for asthma, chest tubes inserted for collapsed lungs, suctioning, CPR.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2020

But those rules didn’t mandate N95s – known to block viruses – for workers who, like Cain, were providing care but weren’t performing aerosolizing treatments, which can release virus particles into the air.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 30, 2020

One nurse described how they had been instructed not to perform certain procedures without full protective equipment because of the risk of aerosolizing the virus and infecting staff.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2020

An atmospheric researcher told the LA Times last month in a different article that she was worried about the ocean aerosolizing particles of coronavirus, sort of sneezing them back into the air.

From Slate ● May 28, 2020

In an enclosed doctor’s office, she and her partner gave the man a nebulizer, which creates a mist infused with medication and is suspected of aerosolizing the virus.

From New York Times ● May 10, 2020