disinfect
Other forms: disinfected; disinfecting; disinfects
To disinfect something is to clean it so thoroughly that you kill any bacteria that might have been living on it. It's particularly important to disinfect cuts and scratches.
You can disinfect your kitchen counters with cleaning products, or disinfect a scrape by washing it with soap and water. Public swimming pools have chlorine added to their water to disinfect them, and bleach is a good all-purpose chemical used to disinfect floors, laundry, and other things that might be harboring nasty bugs. Infect comes from a Latin root word, inficere, "to spoil or stain." Adding the prefix dis-, "do the opposite of," gives you disinfect.
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destroy microorganisms or pathogens by cleansing“disinfect a wound”
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types:
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sterilise, sterilize
make free from bacteria
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antisepticize
disinfect with an antiseptic
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chlorinate
disinfect with chlorine
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autoclave
subject to the action of an autoclave
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type of:
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clean, make clean
make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from
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Copy citationVocabulary lists containing disinfect
After many years in foster care, 12-year-old Hollis is determined to stay with her new caretaker, Josie — but she also misses the Regan family.
A new teacher inspires a class of fifth graders — but when Mr. Terupt suffers a devastating injury, his students struggle to come to terms with their responsibility for the accident.
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