fumigate

verb

fu·​mi·​gate ˈfyü-mə-ˌgāt 

fumigated; fumigating

transitive verb

: to apply smoke, vapor, or gas to especially for the purpose of disinfecting or of destroying pests

fumigation

ˌfyü-mə-ˈgā-shən 

noun

fumigator

ˈfyü-mə-ˌgā-tər 

noun

Examples of fumigate in a Sentence

All the hospital rooms had to be fumigated.

We had to fumigate our apartment to get rid of the ants.

Recent Examples on the Web

The chickens will have to be removed and individually treated with dusting powder and the coop will have to be cleaned out and fumigated. —Sal Gilbertie, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025

Penguin Causes Delays at New Zealand Airport: ‘A Very Unusual Little Visitor’ Before continuing to Vigo, its next Spanish destination, the aircraft was delayed for three hours in order to be fumigated. —Moná Thomas, People.com, 24 Feb. 2025

Outlets also noted that the room had recently been fumigated for bed bugs with highly toxic Phosphine, then sealed for 72 hours. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2025

The duo fumigated One Bills Drive, meticulously incorporating their holistic vision for a winning organization, revamping the Whaley-Ryan roster, and in 2018 trading up to draft Allen seventh. —Tim Graham, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin fūmigātus, past participle of fūmigāre "to subject to smoke, get rid of with smoke," from fūmus "smoke" + -igāre, causative suffix, probably generalized from rēmigāre "to use oars, row," verbal derivative of rēmig-, rēmex "oarsman, rower," from rēmus "oar" + -ig-, -ex, agent noun derivative from the base of agere "to be in motion, do, perform" — more at fume entry 1, agent

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fumigate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Kids Definition

fumigate

verb

fu·​mi·​gate ˈfyü-mə-ˌgāt 

fumigated; fumigating

: to apply smoke, vapor, or gas to especially for the purpose of disinfecting or of destroying pests

fumigation

ˌfyü-mə-ˈgā-shən 

noun

fumigator

ˈfyü-mə-ˌgāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

fumigate

transitive verb

fu·​mi·​gate ˈfyü-mə-ˌgāt 

fumigated; fumigating

: to apply smoke, vapor, or gas to especially for the purpose of disinfecting or of destroying pests

fumigation

ˌfyü-mə-ˈgā-shən 

noun

fumigator

ˈfyü-mə-ˌgāt-ər 

noun