cross-contaminate

or cross con·tam·i·nate

[ kraws-kuhn-tam-uh-neyt, kros ]

verb (used with object)

1. to transfer something bad or harmful, especially pathogens or allergens, to (a person or thing):

   Wash the cutting board after using it for meat, or you may cross-contaminate your vegetables with bacteria from the meat.

2. to allow the unwanted mixture of minute amounts of one substance into another, as with laboratory specimens:

   The lung secretions were left to sit too long before analysis, cross-contaminating the specimen with particles from the air.

3. to mix ideas, information, etc., in such a way as to compromise their integrity or reliability:

   I don't want to cross-contaminate the data—I need the files generated for each day to stay separate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cross-contaminate¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

In practice they do not transfer to knife edges or cross-contaminate other foods because the board will not let go of them.

From The Daily Beast