Sterilize
['stɛrəlaɪz]
Definition
(verb.) make infertile; 'in some countries, people with genetically transmissible disabilites are sterilized'.
(verb.) make free from bacteria.
Checked by Genevieve--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To make sterile or unproductive; to impoverish, as land; to exhaust of fertility.
(v. t.) To deprive of the power of reproducing; to render incapable of germination or fecundation; to make sterile.
(v. t.) To destroy all spores or germs in (an organic fluid or mixture), as by heat, so as to prevent the development of bacterial or other organisms.
Checker: Marsha
Examples
- The cans are then removed, the vent hole closed by a drop of solder, and the goods thus hermetically sealed in a cooked or sterilized condition will keep for a long period of time. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- During the process of filtration the chicle is also sterilized, and comes from the machine as pure as distilled water. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- To the physician electric stoves are valuable, since his instruments can be sterilized in water heated by the stove; and that without fuel or odor of gas. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Material infected with the microbe is then placed in the test-tube by a sterilized platinum wire and the tube closed by raw cotton. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- An ordinary test-tube is supplied with some of the culture medium, and is then sterilized over the fire to destroy all interfering germs. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Physicians who perform operations wash not only their hands, but their instruments, sterilizing the latter by placing them in boiling water for several minutes. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
Editor: Wilma