autoclave

1 of 2

noun

au·​to·​clave ˈȯ-tō-ˌklāv 

: an apparatus in which special conditions (such as high or low pressure or temperature) can be established for a variety of applications

especially : an apparatus (as for sterilizing) using steam under high pressure

autoclave

2 of 2

verb

autoclaved; autoclaving

transitive verb

: to treat in an autoclave

Examples of autoclave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The agave is slow-cooked in stainless steel autoclaves, fermented in copper and stainless-steel tanks, and double-distilled in copper pot stills to ensure preservation of its nuanced character. —Jillian Dara, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

Each lab is equipped with its own dedicated set of scientific instruments, including bench-top genetic sequencers, and each has its own dedicated autoclave for cleanup. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 2025

Verb

Usually, lab waste plastics are bagged and autoclaved -- an energy- and water-hungry sterilization process -- before being sent to landfill. —Alice Bell, CNN, 5 Nov. 2019

That material -- autoclaved aerated concrete, better known as AAC block -- is a porous block that's lightweight and workable, but also has insulating qualities. —Sarah Bonnette, NOLA.com, 30 Aug. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from French, "type of pressure cooker," short for marmite autoclave, probably meant to be understood as "cooking pot that locks itself (by internal pressure)," from auto- auto- + -clave, borrowed from Latin clāvis "key" — more at clavicle

Note: The word was presumably coined by the French politician, educator and inventor Pierre Alexandre Lemare (1766-1835), who filed for a patent (brevet d'invention) on the autoclave in 1820. See Dictionnaire chronologique et raisonné des découvertes, inventions … en France … de 1789 à la fin de 1820, tome premier (Paris, 1822), pp. 485-87.

Verb

derivative of autoclave entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1820, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1911, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for autoclave

• aftershave
• architrave
• microwave
• misbehave
• agave
• behave
• concave
• conclave
• enclave
• engrave
• enslave
• forgave

Kids Definition

autoclave

noun

au·​to·​clave

ˈȯt-ō-ˌklāv

: a device (as for sterilizing) that uses steam under pressure

Medical Definition

autoclave

1 of 2 noun

au·​to·​clave ˈȯt-ō-ˌklāv 

: an apparatus (as for sterilizing) using superheated steam under pressure

autoclave

2 of 2 transitive verb

autoclaved; autoclaving

: to treat in an autoclave