contaminate
verb
conĀ·tamĀ·iĀ·nate
| \ kÉn-Ėta-mÉ-ĖnÄt
\
\
contaminated;
contaminating
Definition of contaminate
1a
: to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association
Bacteria contaminated the wound.
b
: to make inferior or impure by admixture
iron contaminated with phosphorus
2
: to make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements
water contaminated by sewage
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Other Words from contaminate
contaminative
\ kÉn-Ėta-mÉ-ĖnÄ-tiv
\
adjective
\
adjective
contaminator
\ kÉn-Ėta-mÉ-ĖnÄ-tÉr
\
noun
\
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for contaminate
Synonyms
befoul, defile, foul, poison, pollute, taint
Antonyms
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Examples of contaminate in a Sentence
Be careful not to allow bacteria to contaminate the wound.
Don't touch the microchip or the oil on your hands will contaminate it.
Make sure the white paint is not contaminated by any of the other colors.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Village officials said that the water supply is not contaminated and confirmed that no further precautions are in place for residents. — Maia Anderson, chicagotribune.com, "Barrington officials take precautions after chlorine leak discovered at water treatment plant," 26 Aug. 2019 The announcement comes weeks after officials in New Jersey's largest city said that the drinking water was contaminated with elevated levels of lead. — Eric Levenson, CNN, "Newark is getting a $120 million loan to fix its water crisis in the next 2-3 years," 26 Aug. 2019 The company bought the former UConn property from the state in 2018, spending $5.2 million on the site, which is contaminated with toxic PCBs and asbestos. — Emily Brindley, courant.com, "Weeks after unveiling the concept for a West Hartford āFintech Village,ā Ideanomics still hasnāt filed formal design plans," 8 Aug. 2019 But since the oceans are increasingly contaminated with plastic debrisā8 to 9 million tons added every yearāthe adults mistakenly feed plastic bottle tops and other plastic fragments to their young. — Stephen Leahy, National Geographic, "Seabirds that eat plasticāand liveāhave major health problems," 2 Aug. 2019 Girardi said some people donāt break down cardboard boxes as they are instructed to do to save space, while others combine recyclables with garbage, contaminating and ruining the recyclables. — cleveland.com, "Pepper Pike seeks to resolve city hall garbage drop-off problem," 22 Aug. 2019 At the beginning of August a listeria outbreak in the UK killed six people who had eaten contaminated hospital food. — Jack Guy, CNN, "Listeria outbreak infects 175 people during peak tourist season in Spain," 22 Aug. 2019 After discovering its well was contaminated last year, the school has now hooked up to the village of Lannon's municipal water system. — Alec Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "E. coli and coliform bacteria were found in Lannon Elementary's well. Here's what the district did.," 20 Aug. 2019 Apparatus bays will include diesel exhaust capture devices so exhaust does not contaminate common and sleeping areas of the station. — Karen Zurawski, Houston Chronicle, "Sept. 1, 2020 anticipated opening date for HCESD No. 48 fire station," 19 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contaminate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for contaminate
contaminate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of contaminate
: to make (something) dangerous, dirty, or impure by adding something harmful or undesirable to it
See the full definition for contaminate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
contaminate
verb
conĀ·tamĀ·iĀ·nate
| \ kÉn-Ėta-mÉ-ĖnÄt
\
\
contaminated;
contaminating
Kids Definition of contaminate
1
: to soil, stain, or infect by contact or association
The wound was contaminated by bacteria.
2
: to make unfit for use by adding something harmful or unpleasant
The water is contaminated with chemicals.
contaminate
transitive verb
conĀ·tamĀ·iĀ·nate
| \ kÉn-Ėtam-É-ĖnÄt
\
\
contaminated;
contaminating
Medical Definition of contaminate
1
: to soil, stain, or infect by contact or association
bacteria contaminated the wound
2
: to make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements
water contaminated by sewage