STERILISATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sterilisation mean? 

• STERILISATION (noun)
  The noun STERILISATION has 2 senses:

1. the act of making an organism barren or infertile (unable to reproduce)

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

  Familiarity information: STERILISATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STERILISATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

sterilisation; sterilization

Hypernyms ("sterilisation" 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 "sterilisation"):

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

surgical contraception (contraception by surgical sterilization)

Derivation:

sterilise (make infertile)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

sterilisation; sterilization

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

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

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

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

Derivation:

sterilise (make free from bacteria)