Library / English Dictionary

STERILIZATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The procedure of making some object free of live bacteria or other microorganisms (usually by heat or chemical means)

Synonyms:

sterilisation; sterilization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("sterilization" is a kind of...):

cleaning; cleansing; cleanup (the act of making something clean)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sterilization"):

pasteurisation; pasteurization (partial sterilization of foods at a temperature that destroys harmful microorganisms without major changes in the chemistry of the food)

Derivation:

sterilize (make free from bacteria)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of making an organism barren or infertile (unable to reproduce)

Synonyms:

sterilisation; sterilization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("sterilization" is a kind of...):

operation; surgery; surgical operation; surgical procedure; surgical process (a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sterilization"):

altering; fixing; neutering (the sterilization of an animal)

surgical contraception (contraception by surgical sterilization)

Derivation:

sterilize (make infertile)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A sterilization process that uses ozone gas to kill microorganisms.

(Ozone Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)

A sterilization process that uses moist air at high temperatures to kill microorganisms.

(Moist Heat or Steam Sterilization, Food and Drug Administration)

A sterilization process that uses nonionizing radiation at frequencies between 300MHz and 300GHz in the microwave region to kill microorganisms.

(Microwave Radiation Sterilization, Food and Drug Administration)

A sterilization method that uses a disinfectant for a period of time to kill all microorganisms except small numbers of bacterial spores.

(High-level Disinfectant Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)

A sterilization process that uses ethylene oxide gas to kill microorganisms.

(Ethylene Oxide Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)

A sterilization process that uses high temperature and dry air to kill microorganisms on the surface of objects.

(Dry Heat Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)

A sterilization process that uses ethylene oxide gas enclosed within a sealed bag to kill microorganisms.

(Ethylene Oxide-in-a-Bag Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)

A sterilization process that uses high temperature and dry air to kill microorganisms.

(Dry Heat Sterilization, Food and Drug Administration)

A sterilization process that uses nitrogen dioxide to kill microorganisms.

(Nitrogen Dioxide Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)

A sterilization process that uses nitrogen dioxide radicals that are formed from dinitrogen tetroxide dimers to kill microorganisms.

(Nitrogen Dioxide Sterilization, Food and Drug Administration)