What does sterilise mean?
Sterilise means to make something free from living microorganisms, ideally including resistant spores that can survive ordinary cleaning. It is especially associated with hospitals, laboratories, food processing, and the preparation of equipment, instruments, bottles, and other objects that must not transmit infection. The word can also mean to make a person or animal incapable of reproducing, although this sense is less common and usually refers to a deliberate veterinary or medical procedure. In everyday discussion, sterilise is often confused with sanitise or disinfect, but it is the more absolute term: sterilisation aims to eliminate microbial life, whereas those processes primarily reduce or control it. British English uses sterilise, while American English normally uses sterilize. The word is useful because it distinguishes complete microbial elimination from less thorough forms of cleaning.
verbTo make something free from living microorganisms, including resistant spores. It can also mean to make a person or organism incapable of reproducing.
- To make an object, substance, or environment sterile by eliminating living microorganisms.
- To make a person or organism incapable of reproducing.
"The hospital sterilises all instruments before using them in surgery."
"The laboratory sterilises the glassware before beginning the experiment."
"The vet explained that the procedure would sterilise the male cat."
Sterilise is the strictest cousin in the clean-up family: it aims not merely to reduce microbes, but to eliminate them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sterilise come from?
The word belongs to a family rooted in Latin sterilis, meaning “barren,” “sterile,” or “unable to produce offspring.” English developed the verb in forms using the productive -ise or -ize suffix, with British and American spelling later preserving the two variants. Related English words include sterile and sterility, which share the same Latin foundation.
Related word forms
How sterilise is actually used
The spelling sterilise is standard in British English, while sterilize is usual in American English. The word is common in medical, laboratory, food-processing, and hygiene contexts. In reproductive contexts, it has the more formal meaning of making an organism infertile.
Easily confused with sterilise
Sanitising reduces or controls harmful microorganisms, whereas sterilising is intended to eliminate microbial life and spores.