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sterilize

 - 4 dictionary results
Amsco Sterilizers
Steam Sterilizers, Parts,Service Maint. Training, Water Consevation
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ster⋅i⋅lize

  [ster-uh-lahyz]
Use sterilize in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -lized, -liz⋅ing.
1. to destroy microorganisms in or on, usually by bringing to a high temperature with steam, dry heat, or boiling liquid.
2. to destroy the ability of (a person or animal) to reproduce by removing the sex organs or inhibiting their functions.
3. to make (land) barren or unproductive.
4. Informal. to delete or remove anything comprising or damaging from: to sterilize a government document before releasing it to the press.
5. 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:
1685–95; sterile + -ize

Related forms:
ster⋅i⋅liz⋅a⋅ble, adjective
ster⋅i⋅liz⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
ster⋅i⋅liz⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Amsco Sterilizers
Steam Sterilizers, Parts,Service Maint. Training, Water Consevation
www.sterilizer.net
ster·il·ize   (stěr'ə-līz')   
tr.v.   ster·il·ized, ster·il·iz·ing, ster·il·iz·es

  1. To make free from live bacteria or other microorganisms.

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

    1. To make incapable of bearing fruit or germinating.

    2. To render (land) unfruitful.

  4. Economics To place (gold) in safekeeping so as not to affect the supply of money or credit.

  5. To make inoffensive or innocuous: sterilized the terminology with euphemisms.

ster'il·iz'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ster·il·ize
Variant: also British ster·il·ise /'ster-&-"lIz/
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms:-ized also British -ised; -iz·ing also British -is·ing
: to make sterile: a : to deprive of the power ofreproducing b : to free from living microorganisms usually by the use of physical or chemical agents <sterilize a surgical instrument> —ster·il·iza·tion /"ster-&-l&-'zA-sh&n/ also British ster·il·isa·tion /-"lI-'/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

sterilize ster·il·ize (stěr'ə-līz')
v. ster·il·ized, ster·il·iz·ing, ster·il·iz·es

  1. To make free from live bacteria or other microorganisms.

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

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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