From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsterilizester‧il‧ize (also sterilise British English) /ˈsterəlaɪz/ verb [transitive] 1 CLEANto make something completely clean by killing any bacteria in it Sterilize the bottles with boiling water. sterilized milk sterilizing solution2 MBBABY/HAVE A BABYif a person or animal is sterilized, they have an operation to stop them producing babies —sterilizer noun [countable] an electric sterilizer —sterilization /ˌsterəlaɪˈzeɪʃən $ -lə-/ noun [countable, uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
sterilize• Has the needle been sterilized?• The National Fertility Survey found that out of the total of women using contraception, 52.5% had been sterilized.• Lakes and ponds were tapped, water from the Lys sterilized and stored in barges, and cisterns built to trap rainwater.• The largest mineral resource deliberately sterilized by the process was the Windy Craggy copper property in the remote northwestern corner of B.C.• There is no need to launder bedding or sterilize clothing.• After all, it is illegal to grow hemp in the United States, though sterilized hempseeds may be imported legally.• Place lemons in a sterilized jar and sprinkle with remaining 21 / 2 tablespoons salt.• Ordinary chlorine bleach kills the virus on contact and can be used to sterilize needles between uses.• Babies' bottles can be sterilized simply by boiling them in water.• Sterilize the needle in boiling water. 