contamination

noun

con·​tam·​i·​na·​tion kən-ˌta-mə-ˈnā-shən 

1

: a process of contaminating : a state of being contaminated

2

: contaminant

Synonyms of contamination

• contaminant
• pollutant

Examples of contamination in a Sentence

swimming in the lake is banned until the contamination is identified and neutralized

Recent Examples on the Web

Sensitive wards are separated so contamination can’t race through the building. —Scott Alldridge, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

As of Wednesday, June 17, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has five beaches under swimming advisories due to a high level of enterococci, a type of bacteria that can indicate possible contamination from human or animal waste in bathing water. —Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026

However, all of these various items—and their smells—are destined to co-mingle in such tight spaces, resulting in cross-contamination of odors. —Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 17 June 2026

That was partly because the software that assembled the genome from individual fragments of genome sequence was made to treat bacterial sequence as contamination. —John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 16 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English contaminacioun, borrowed from Latin contāminātiōn-, contāminātiō "defilement, pollution," from contāmināre "to defile, pollute" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at contaminate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing contamination

• cross-contamination
• self-contamination

Rhymes for contamination

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Medical Definition

contamination

noun

con·​tam·​i·​na·​tion kən-ˌtam-ə-ˈnā-shən 

1

: a process of contaminating : a state of being contaminated

2

: something that contaminates