isolate

Everyday

1. To keep a person or thing apart from others, especially to stop a disease spreading. tree →
2. To separate one thing from a mixture or group so you can study it. tree →
3. To make someone feel alone and left out. tree →
4. (maths) To get one letter or number on its own on one side of an equation. tree →

In the lessons

In health lessons and during illness people isolate at home; in science pupils isolate a variable to make a fair test, or scientists isolate a germ; in maths, «isolate x» means get x by itself. In stories and PSHE, being isolated means lonely, and isolating someone on purpose is a kind of bullying. Phrases: self-isolate, isolate the problem, feel isolated, isolated village.

Examples

• The doctor told him to isolate at home until his fever went away. tree →
• Scientists isolated the germ that caused the illness. tree →
• To find x, isolate it on one side of the equation. tree →
• In a fair test we isolate one variable and keep the others the same. tree →
• Leaving a classmate out of every game can isolate them. tree →
• The snowstorm isolated the village for three days. tree →
• The farm is isolated, ten miles from the nearest shop. tree →

Note

Regular verb: isolated, isolating. Pronounced EYE-so-late. Adjective: isolated (alone, far away); noun: isolation. «Self-isolate» became a common word during the COVID-19 pandemic.