[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/sterile/)

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# sterile

adjective (sterile)

«sterile» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Sterile means completely clean and free from germs (bacteria and viruses): sterile bandages, a sterile operating room. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#m1)
2. Sterile means unable to have babies or young, or (of plants) unable to make seeds or fruit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#m2)
3. Sterile land cannot grow crops. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#m3)
4. Sterile also means dull, lifeless, without ideas or warmth: a sterile argument, a sterile room. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#m4)

### In the lessons

In science and health lessons it appears with hygiene, first aid, hospitals and microbes: sterile means no living germs at all. In biology it appears with reproduction in animals and plants. In stories a sterile place feels cold and empty. Phrases: "sterile dressing", "sterile water", "keep sterile", "sterile environment".

### Examples

- Doctors use sterile gloves during operations. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#x1)
- The nurse opened a sterile bandage. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#x2)
- Boiling water can make baby bottles sterile. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#x3)
- A mule is usually sterile, so it cannot have foals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#x4)
- The desert soil was sterile and nothing grew. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#x5)
- The new office felt sterile, with white walls and no plants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#x6)
- In the lab, keep the dish sterile so no germs grow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#x7)

### Note

British pronunciation "STER-ile" (rhymes with "mile"), American "STER-ul". Verb: sterilise (UK) / sterilize (US); noun: sterility. "Sterile" in science means not even one living germ, which is more than just "clean".

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sterile» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sterile» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sterile.html) on Mova free.