decontaminate
to make (an object or area) safe for unprotected personnel by removing, neutralizing, or destroying any harmful substance, as radioactive material or poisonous gas.
to make free of contamination; purify: to decontaminate a sickroom.
Origin of decontaminate
1Other words from decontaminate
- de·con·tam·i·na·tion, noun
- de·con·tam·i·na·tive, adjective
- de·con·tam·i·na·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use decontaminate in a sentence
The disease is spread via bodily fluids, necesitating strict isolation for the patients and thorough decontamination.
Two American Ebola Patients Coming Home to U.S. for Treatment | Abby Haglage | August 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA wooden decontamination building was erected just a few hundred yards down from the guard post.
He says BP still owes him $15,000 for two deckhands and another $20,000 for decontamination and repainting of his boat.
The Gulf of Mexico's Seafood Rebirth a Year After the BP Oil Spill | Rick Outzen | April 18, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTSo he took a decontamination shower alone, clothes on, and then drove home through empty streets to his empty house.
The Tories' "decontamination" strategy was designed for happier times.
He didn't know what was meant by full decontamination procedure.
The Status Civilization | Robert SheckleyHe went through the radiation trap to the decontamination chamber to wash off whatever it was he had picked up.
The Bramble Bush | Gordon Randall GarrettHe wandered around the decontamination room, looking at everything, hoping he might see something that would give him a clue.
The Bramble Bush | Gordon Randall GarrettSome of the first, heavily loaded, were lifted to emptiness again and the process of decontamination of their hulls began.
Pariah Planet | Murray LeinsterInside the decontamination chamber, the Planeteers took off their masks and faced Rip with admiring grins.
Rip Foster in Ride the Gray Planet | Harold Leland Goodwin
British Dictionary definitions for decontaminate
/ (ˌdiːkənˈtæmɪˌneɪt) /
(tr) to render (an area, building, object, etc) harmless by the removal, distribution, or neutralization of poisons, radioactivity, etc
Derived forms of decontaminate
- decontaminant, noun
- decontamination, noun
- decontaminative, adjective
- decontaminator, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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