contaminate: Meaning and Definition of

con•tam•i•nate

Pronunciation: (v.kun-tam'u-nāt"n., adj.kun-tam'u-nit, -nāt"), [key]
— v., n., adj. -nat•ed, -nat•ing,
—v.t.
  1. to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc.: to contaminate a lake with sewage.
  2. to render harmful or unusable by adding radioactive material to: to contaminate a laboratory.
—n.
  1. something that contaminates or carries contamination; contaminant.
—adj.
  1. contaminated.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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