sterile

Everyday

1. Sterile means completely clean and free from germs (bacteria and viruses): sterile bandages, a sterile operating room. tree →
2. Sterile means unable to have babies or young, or (of plants) unable to make seeds or fruit. tree →
3. Sterile land cannot grow crops. tree →
4. Sterile also means dull, lifeless, without ideas or warmth: a sterile argument, a sterile room. tree →

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 →
• The nurse opened a sterile bandage. tree →
• Boiling water can make baby bottles sterile. tree →
• A mule is usually sterile, so it cannot have foals. tree →
• The desert soil was sterile and nothing grew. tree →
• The new office felt sterile, with white walls and no plants. tree →
• In the lab, keep the dish sterile so no germs grow. tree →

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".