germier; germiest
: full of germs

Examples of germy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web One of the most effective ways to curb disease transmission indoors is to swap out most of the air in a room — replacing the stale, potentially germy air with fresh air from outside or running it through high-efficiency filters — as often as possible. Liz Szabo, CNN, 22 Apr. 2022 But hands can be germy. Jake Coyle, ajc, 8 Aug. 2021 Shared gym surfaces had even more microbes living on them than commonly germy household surfaces. Josh Max, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2023 Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration acknowledge on their websites that surgical masks are generally meant to help protect against large droplets, splashes or sprays of possibly germy fluid. Ella Lee, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2022 People’s unwillingness to touch potentially germy surfaces and devices during the pandemic has greatly accelerated the adoption of unique QR codes. Matthew Kitchen, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2021 So while a little extra cleaning might not fend off the coronavirus, keeping a less germy office certainly doesn’t hurt. Rachel Gutman, The Atlantic, 3 May 2021 Be responsible, don’t be a germy menace, but definitely hold a pair of hearty-yet-silky trousers cut from weighty upholstery fabric in your hands. New York Times, 22 Apr. 2021 Boiling germy water denatures proteins and wrecks the structures of pathogens. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 19 Feb. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'germy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of germy was in 1884

Dictionary Entries Near germy

Cite this Entry

“Germy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/germy. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

Medical Definition

germy

adjective
germier; germiest
: full of germs
germy hands

More from Merriam-Webster on germy

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