decontaminate

verb

de·​con·​tam·​i·​nate ˌdē-kən-ˈta-mə-ˌnāt 

decontaminated; decontaminating; decontaminates

transitive verb

: to rid of contamination (such as radioactive material)

decontamination

ˌdē-kən-ˌta-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

decontaminator

ˌdē-kən-ˈta-mə-ˌnā-tər 

noun

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

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for decontaminate

• borosilicate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• incapacitate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate
• isocyanate

Kids Definition

decontaminate

verb

de·​con·​tam·​i·​nate ˌdē-kən-ˈtam-ə-ˌnāt 

: to rid of something (as radioactive material) that contaminates

decontamination

-ˌtam-ə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

decontaminate

transitive verb

de·​con·​tam·​i·​nate ˌdē-kən-ˈtam-ə-ˌnāt 

decontaminated; decontaminating

: to rid of contamination (as radioactive material)

decontamination

-ˌtam-ə-ˈnā-shən 

noun