CONTAMINATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does contamination mean? 

• CONTAMINATION (noun)
  The noun CONTAMINATION has 3 senses:

1. the state of being contaminated

2. a substance that contaminates

3. the act of contaminating or polluting; including (either intentionally or accidentally) unwanted substances or factors

  Familiarity information: CONTAMINATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONTAMINATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of being contaminated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

contamination; taint

Hypernyms ("contamination" is a kind of...):

impureness; impurity (the condition of being impure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contamination"):

dust contamination (state of being contaminated with dust)

Derivation:

contaminate (make impure)

contaminate (make radioactive by adding radioactive material)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A substance that contaminates

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

contaminant; contamination

Hypernyms ("contamination" is a kind of...):

material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)

Derivation:

contaminate (make impure)

contaminate (make radioactive by adding radioactive material)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of contaminating or polluting; including (either intentionally or accidentally) unwanted substances or factors

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

contamination; pollution

Hypernyms ("contamination" is a kind of...):

dirtying; soiling; soilure (the act of soiling something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contamination"):

dust contamination (the act of contaminating with dust particles)

Antonym:

decontamination (the removal of contaminants)

Derivation:

contaminate (make impure)

contaminate (make radioactive by adding radioactive material)

 Context examples 

That's because not all of the cages were damaged and the source of contamination remained less certain.

(Reproductive Problems Reported In Lab Mice after BPA Replacements in Plastics, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Little girl, a memory without blot or contamination must be an exquisite treasure—an inexhaustible source of pure refreshment: is it not?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

This correlation with conditions on the asteroids would be unlikely if the vitamin came from contamination on Earth.

(Vitamin B3 might have been made in space, delivered to Earth by meteorites, NASA)

Their analysis suggests that these waters are more vulnerable to modern contamination than previously thought.

(Modern pollutants can reach deep fossil aquifers, SciDev.Net)

Arsenic contamination in rice poses a serious health risk in many parts of the world.

(Parboiling husked rice reduces arsenic content, SciDev.Net)

Inflammation of the peritoneum due to an infection caused by meconium contamination.

(Meconium Peritonitis, NCI Thesaurus)

Any of various amplification and detection strategies applied to detection of virus contamination in donor blood.

(Nucleic Acid Amplification Test, NCI Thesaurus)

Testing of specimens or materials for the presence of microbial contamination.

(Laboratory Testing for Bacteria, Virus, or Mycoplasma, NCI Thesaurus)

Testing the device for the presence of chemicals or other agents that do not belong on the device (contamination).

(Device Agent Contamination Testing Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)

The darkish streaks are considered special regions on Mars, where extra precautions must be taken to prevent contamination because of the suspected presence of liquid water, considered a prerequisite for life.

(NASA Weighs Use of Rover to Image Potential Mars Water Sites, NASA)