Ster"il*ize (?), v. t. [imp. &
p. p. Sterilized (?); p. pr. & vb.
n. Sterilizing (?).] [Cf. F.
stériliser.] 1. To make sterile or
unproductive; to impoverish, as land; to exhaust of fertility.
[R.] "Sterilizing the earth." Woodward.
2. (Biol.) (a) To
deprive of the power of reproducing; to render incapable of
germination or fecundation; to make sterile. (b)
To destroy all spores or germs in (an organic fluid or mixture),
as by heat, so as to prevent the development of bacterial or other
organisms.
Ster"il*ize (?), v. t. [imp. &
p. p. Sterilized (?); p. pr. & vb.
n. Sterilizing (?).] [Cf. F.
stériliser.] 1. To make sterile or
unproductive; to impoverish, as land; to exhaust of fertility.
[R.] "Sterilizing the earth." Woodward.
2. (Biol.) (a) To
deprive of the power of reproducing; to render incapable of
germination or fecundation; to make sterile. (b)
To destroy all spores or germs in (an organic fluid or mixture),
as by heat, so as to prevent the development of bacterial or other
organisms.
