sterilize — 1 Sterilize, castrate, spay, emasculate, alter, mutilate, geld, caponize mean to make incapable of producing offspring. Sterilize, the most general of these terms, is applicable to both human beings and animals and is used whether the end is… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Sterilize — Ster il*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sterilized}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sterilizing}.] [Cf. F. st[ e]riliser.] 1. To make sterile or unproductive; to impoverish, as land; to exhaust of fertility. [R.] Sterilizing the earth. Woodward. [1913 Webster] 2.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
sterilize — index decontaminate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
sterilize — destroy the fertility of, 1690s (in reference to soil), from STERILE (Cf. sterile) + IZE (Cf. ize); of living things from 1828. Meaning render free of microorganisms is from 1878. Related: Sterilized; sterilizing … Etymology dictionary
sterilize — (Amer.) ster·i·lize || sterÉ™laɪz v. make sterile; decontaminate, disinfect (also sterilise) … English contemporary dictionary
sterilize — [v] make clean or unproductive alter, antisepticize, autoclave, castrate, change, clean, decontaminate, desexualize, disinfect, emasculate, fix, fumigate, incapacitate, make sterile, neuter, pasteurize, purify, sanitize, spay; concepts 231,250… … New thesaurus
sterilize — (also sterilise) ► VERB 1) make sterile. 2) deprive of the ability to produce offspring by removing or blocking the sex organs. DERIVATIVES sterilization noun … English terms dictionary
sterilize — [ster′ə līz΄] vt. sterilized, sterilizing to make sterile; specif., a) to make incapable of producing others of its kind, as by removing the organs of reproduction or preventing them from functioning effectively b) to make (land) unproductive c)… … English World dictionary
sterilize — sf., Fr. stérilisé 1) Bozulmasına yol açabilecek mikroorganizmalardan ve mayalardan sterilizasyon yöntemiyle arınmış olan (ürün vb.) Sterilize süt. Sterilize sebze. 2) Kısırlaştırılmış 3) tıp Steril Sterilize şişe. Sterilize tüp. Atasözü, Deyim… … Çağatay Osmanlı Sözlük
sterilize — sterilizable, adj. sterilizability, n. sterilizer, n. /ster euh luyz /, v.t., sterilized, sterilizing. 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… … Universalium
sterilize — [[t]ste̱rɪlaɪz[/t]] sterilizes, sterilizing, sterilized (in BRIT, also use sterilise) 1) VERB If you sterilize a thing or a place, you make it completely clean and free from germs. [V n] Sulphur is also used to sterilize equipment... [V n] The… … English dictionary