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# sterile

«sterile» in Mova's school dictionary: **completely clean and free from germs (bacteria and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (sterile)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Sterile means completely clean and free from germs (bacteria and viruses): sterile bandages, a sterile operating room. [tree →](https://md.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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#m2)

3) Sterile land cannot grow crops. [tree →](https://md.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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/#m4)

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

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «sterile» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sterile/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.