sterilize

[ster-uh-lahyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sterilize ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), ster·i·lized, ster·i·liz·ing.

to destroy microorganisms in or on, usually by bringing to a high temperature with steam, dry heat, or boiling liquid.

to destroy the ability of (a person or animal) to reproduce by removing the sex organs or inhibiting their functions.

to make (land) barren or unproductive.

Informal. to delete or remove anything comprising or damaging from: to sterilize a government document before releasing it to the press.

Informal. to isolate or completely protect from unwanted, unauthorized, or unwholesome activities, attitudes, influences, etc.: You can't sterilize children against violence.

Also especially British, ster·i·lise.

Origin of sterilize

First recorded in 1685–95; sterile + -ize

Related formsster·i·liz·a·ble, adjectivester·i·liz·a·bil·i·ty, nounster·i·liz·er, nounpre·ster·i·lize, verb (used with object), pre·ster·i·lized, pre·ster·i·liz·ing.re·ster·i·lize, verb (used with object), re·ster·i·lized, re·ster·i·liz·ing.self-ster·i·lized, adjectiveun·ster·i·lized, adjective

Can be confusedimpotence sterility sterilized

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sterilize

decontaminate, neuter, disinfect, spay, sanitize, castrate, pasteurize, emasculate, fix, purify, incapacitate, clean, fumigate, alter, change, autoclave, desexualize, antisepticize

Examples from the Web for sterilize

Contemporary Examples of sterilize

The effort to sterilize his image first began when Epstein hired Los Angeles-based spin doctors Sitrick Co.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking
M.L. Nestel
January 8, 2015

Historical Examples of sterilize

Sterilize: to destroy all the germs or spores in or on anything.
Agriculture for Beginners
Charles William Burkett
In the field it is sometimes necessary to sterilize or filter water.
Manual of Military Training
James A. Moss
The mother should sterilize the wound as thoroughly as possible.
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume IV. (of IV.)
Grant Hague
Some ligations and short resections have failed to sterilize.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation
Austin O'Malley
Then sterilize your cans, and you won't have a bit of trouble.
Living on a Little
Caroline French Benton

British Dictionary definitions for sterilize

sterilize

sterilise

verb

(tr) to render sterile; make infertile or barren

Derived Formssterilizable or sterilisable, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for sterilize

"destroy the fertility of," 1690s (in reference to soil), from sterile + -ize; of living things from 1828. Meaning "render free of microorganisms" is from 1878. Related: Sterilized; sterilizing.

sterilize in Medicine

sterilize

[stĕr′ə-līz′]

v.

To make free from live bacteria or other microorganisms.

To deprive a person or animal of the ability to produce offspring, as by removing the reproductive organs.