contaminate
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
adjective
verb
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to make impure, esp by touching or mixing; pollute
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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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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
A Long Walk to Water
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Bud, Not Buddy
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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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.
The farm screens each batch for four types of bacteria: salmonella, E. coli, campylobacter and listeria, all of which thrive in the intestines of cattle and can contaminate milk through microscopic flecks of infected feces.
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026
The waste can also clog the aquatic vegetation where the fish would feed and breed, and contaminate the water on which they depend.
From Barron's • May 20, 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
Some ranchers worry that wastewater might contaminate sources of groundwater and imperil their operations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
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
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.
