sanitize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
sanitizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sanitized,
past participle, past
-
sanitizing
present participle
-
to free from dirt, germs, etc., as by cleaning or sterilizing.
-
to make less offensive by eliminating anything unwholesome, objectionable, incriminating, etc..
to sanitize a document before releasing it to the press.
verb
-
to make sanitary or hygienic, as by sterilizing
-
to omit unpleasant details from (a news report, document, etc) to make it more palatable to the recipients
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sanitizesimple
-
sanitizessimple
-
have sanitizedperfect
-
has sanitizedperfect
-
am sanitizingprogressive
-
are sanitizingprogressive
-
is sanitizingprogressive
-
have been sanitizingperfect progressive
-
has been sanitizingperfect progressive
Past
-
sanitizedsimple
-
had sanitizedperfect
-
was sanitizingprogressive
-
were sanitizingprogressive
-
had been sanitizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sanitize
First recorded in 1830–40; sanit(ary) + -ize
Explanation
To sanitize something is to make it extremely clean. After watching you play with your slobbery dog, your fastidious friend might insist that you sanitize your hands before sitting down to dinner. When you clean or sterilize something, particularly for reasons of good health (like not spreading germs), you can say that you sanitize it. You can also use this verb in a figurative way, whenever you "clean" something: "She doesn't want to risk alienating her audience, so she sanitizes her speech to remove anything that might offend them." The Latin root is sanitas, "health."
Vocabulary lists containing sanitize
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Turtles All the Way Down
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Beyond the Bright Sea
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The company must also sanitize the freezer within seven days of clearing out remaining food waste.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
In the face of efforts to erase or sanitize the uncomfortable history of our country, confronting this past is more important than ever.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
The strength of Tom’s narration is that it makes no effort to sanitize itself for its audience, to make Tom seem fair or attractive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
Food processing plants apply it to sanitize surfaces and equipment.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2025
We don’t even have time to talk except catering-teamwork talk, so while we wash and sanitize big pots and pans, she occasionally hip-bumps me and I hip-bump her back.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Roughly the size of a microwave, the device sanitizes water using UV light to kill harmful bacteria, viruses and molds.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
“Using a smartphone application sanitizes things and makes it feel like it’s safe and unbiased,” said Ari Sawyer, a border researcher for Human Rights Watch.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2024
Omitting the importation of European diseases sanitizes the sorry historical record.
From Washington Post ● May 20, 2022
It cleans its contaminated sewage with an anaerobic reactor that sanitizes by biological means.
From New York Times ● Dec. 21, 2021
Loop, a two-year-old company that collects and sanitizes reusable containers, said Wednesday it’s expanding after successful trials at groceries in France and Japan.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2021
Amid ongoing concerns, district officials have assured parents schools are safe, campuses have been sanitized and high-grade air filters installed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Today’s musician biopics are almost always overly sanitized stories approved by the artist or their estate.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
They argue that lowering the capacity to around 83,000 and cleaning up the concourses has sanitized it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Other presidents have also sometimes behaved contrary to democratic ideals, and national memorials often present a more sanitized version of American history.
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
“Maggie,” he said, “they sanitized the Penikese mail before they sent it off island. With formaldehyde. And I haven’t got any of that.”
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
Infantino has a gift for seduction—and sanitizing controversy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
“We see them as intellectualizing or sanitizing radical-right ideas that are then taken up by the parties in power,” said Allchorn, the U.K. extremism expert.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
Although called out for sanitizing the queer, vocally gifted musician’s private — and not-so-private — life, the movie was nominated for five Oscars, including best picture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
Years ago, Douthat might have been accused of sanitizing the figures who appear on his podcast or of providing intellectual cover to the legitimately unhinged.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2025
The puff of cold sanitizing air made Coal shiver, and his skin wavered into view, then became transparent again.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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.
