decontaminate
verb
de·con·tam·i·nate
ˌdē-kən-ˈta-mə-ˌnāt 
decontaminated; decontaminating; decontaminates
: to rid of contamination (such as radioactive material)
Examples of decontaminate in a Sentence
Special workers were called in to decontaminate the area after the oil spill.
Recent Examples on the Web
Patterson warns that people should not touch bats and should be sure to decontaminate after visiting bat habitat to avoid spreading it.
—
Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 27 June 2025
Also, the robots will need to be decontaminated, and nobody is going to want to have to deal with some sort of special, gentle, robot-friendly decontamination procedure.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 Nov. 2014
Two people were taken to the hospital and hundreds of employees at a medical technology company in North Canaan were decontaminated on Thursday when a suspicious package at the facility was found, prompting an investigation by state and federal authorities.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2025
This fungal tenaciousness makes C. auris extremely difficult to decontaminate when found in busy hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis clinics.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for decontaminate
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Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 27 June 2025
Also, the robots will need to be decontaminated, and nobody is going to want to have to deal with some sort of special, gentle, robot-friendly decontamination procedure.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 Nov. 2014
Two people were taken to the hospital and hundreds of employees at a medical technology company in North Canaan were decontaminated on Thursday when a suspicious package at the facility was found, prompting an investigation by state and federal authorities.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2025
This fungal tenaciousness makes C. auris extremely difficult to decontaminate when found in busy hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis clinics.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for decontaminate
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decontaminate. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
decontaminate
verb
de·con·tam·i·nate
ˌdē-kən-ˈtam-ə-ˌnāt
: to rid of something (as radioactive material) that contaminates
Medical Definition
decontaminate
transitive verb
de·con·tam·i·nate
ˌdē-kən-ˈtam-ə-ˌnāt
decontaminated; decontaminating
: to rid of contamination (as radioactive material)
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