contamination

contamination
contaminate con‧tam‧i‧nate [kənˈtæmneɪt] verb [transitive]
1. to make something dirty and dangerous, for example with chemicals or poison:

• A large number of eggs were contaminated with salmonella.

2. INSURANCE to spoil goods carried by a ship, especially by sea water getting into them
— contamination noun [uncountable] :

• The pollution could cause serious contamination of agricultural land.

* * *

contaminate UK US /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/ verb [T] ENVIRONMENT
► to make something less pure or make it poisonous: »

The government recently reported that 10% of farmland has been destroyed by pollution and that heavy metals contaminate 12 million tons of grain a year.

 »

There are fears that exported products could contaminate food supplies abroad.

contamination noun [U]
► »

The report concluded that bacterial contamination at the factory could occur no matter what technology was being used.


Financial and business terms. 2012.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • contamination — [ kɔ̃taminasjɔ̃ ] n. f. • mil. XIVe; lat. contaminatio 1 ♦ Vx Souillure résultant d un contact impur. 2 ♦ Envahissement (d un objet, d un milieu, d un organisme vivant) par des micro organismes pathogènes (⇒ contage, contagion), ou par des… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • contamination — CONTAMINATION. s. f. Souillure. Contamination légale. Suivant la Loi de Moïse, il y avoit plusieurs sortes de contaminations. Il est vieux …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • Contamination — Con*tam i*na tion (k[o^]n*t[a^]m [i^]*n[=a] sh[u^]n), n. [L. contaminatio.] The act or process of contaminating; pollution; defilement; taint; also, that which contaminates. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Contamination — (v. lat.), Befleckung …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Contamination — Contamination, lat., Besudelung, Befleckung …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • contamination — I noun adulteration, corruption, debauchment, decay, defilement, degradation, despoilment, impureness, impurity, infection, pollution, vitiation II index air pollution, defilement, detriment, perversion …   Law dictionary

  • contamination — (n.) early 15c., from L. contaminationem (nom. contaminatio), noun of action from pp. stem of contaminare (see CONTAMINATE (Cf. contaminate)). Figurative sense is from c.1620; specifically of radioactivity from 1913 …   Etymology dictionary

  • contamination — [n] adulteration contagion, corruption, decay, defilement, dirtying, disease, epidemic, filth, foulness, impurity, infection, pestilence, plague, poisoning, pollution, radioactivation, rottenness, spoliation, taint; concepts 230,306,674 Ant.… …   New thesaurus

  • contamination — Contamination. s. f. v. Soüilleure. Il ne se dit que de soüilleures de la loy de Moyse …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • contamination — [kən tam΄ə nā′shən] n. [ME contaminacioun < L contaminatio] 1. a contaminating or being contaminated 2. something that contaminates …   English World dictionary

  • Contamination — For other uses, see Contamination (disambiguation). Contamination is the presence of a minor and unwanted constituent (contaminant) in material, physical body, natural environment, at a workplace, etc. Specifics Contamination also has more… …   Wikipedia

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