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

Example Sentences

Seventeen crew members who had ridden in the helicopters had to be decontaminated, scrubbed from head to foot to remove any radioactive particles.

From Literature

Workers have complained of chemical burns from the waste material generated by the tunneling process, and firefighters must decontaminate their equipment after conducting rescues from the project sites.

From Salon

A restoration team has also begun decontaminating the building, she said, but the process will take at least two weeks to a month.

From BBC

One email asked whether clinics could decontaminate rooms where people with measles had just been if the clinics were too small to follow the CDC’s recommendation to keep those rooms empty for two hours.

From Salon

"We are trying to get the site to a phase called 'safe store', which means a lot of dismantling, demolition, carefully decontaminating items on site and then retreating the site back to a safe store."

From BBC

Related Words

• cleanse
• disinfect
• fumigate
• sanitize
• sterilize