isolate

American  

[ahy-suh-leyt, ahy-suh-lit, -leyt] / ˈaɪ səˌleɪt, ˈaɪ sə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

isolated, isolating

1. to set or place apart; detach or separate so as to be alone.

2. Medicine/Medical. to keep (an infected person) from contact with noninfected persons; quarantine.

3. Chemistry, Bacteriology. to obtain (a substance or microorganism) in an uncombined or pure state.

4. Electricity. to insulate.

5. Television. to single out (a person, action, etc.) for a camera closeup.

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noun

1. a person, thing, or group that is set apart or isolated, as for purposes of study.

2. Psychology. a person, often shy or lacking in social skills, who avoids the company of others and has no friends within a group.

3. Biology. an inbreeding population that is isolated from similar populations by physiological, behavioral, or geographic barriers.

4. Also called language isolate.  Linguistics. a language with no demonstrable genetic relationship, as Basque.

5. something that has been isolated, as a by-product in a manufacturing process.

   an isolate of soy flour.

adjective

1. isolated; alone.

isolate British  

verb

1. to place apart; cause to be alone

2. med to quarantine (a person or animal) having or suspected of having a contagious disease

3. to obtain (a compound) in an uncombined form

4. to obtain pure cultures of (bacteria, esp those causing a particular disease)

5. electronics to prevent interaction between (circuits, components, etc); insulate

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noun

1. an isolated person or group

Other Word Forms

• isolability noun
• isolable adjective
• isolator noun
• reisolate verb (used with object)
• unisolate verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of isolate

First recorded in 1800–10; back formation from isolated

Example Sentences

"We can't isolate the supply, we're dealing with water and live electric, and there are holes cut through floors that firefighters can fall through."

From BBC

Establishing the alliance means that when missiles are again directed at Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates or Jordan, the response won’t be local and isolated but regional and integrated.

From The Wall Street Journal

What happened at Blue Owl wasn’t an isolated hiccup.

From MarketWatch

In each situation, what changes most is large-scale coordination rather than isolated functions.

From Science Daily

But her story is not an isolated one in the capital.

From BBC

Related Words

• confine
• detach
• disconnect
• disengage
• divide
• insulate
• remove
• segregate
• separate
• sequester