How to Use contaminate in a Sentence
contaminate
verb- Don't touch the microchip or the oil on your hands will contaminate it.
- Make sure the white paint is not contaminated by any of the other colors.
- Be careful not to allow bacteria to contaminate the wound.
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My friend had not examined the measurements that proved that fracs from shale wells do not grow up and contaminate aquifers.
— Ian Palmer, Forbes, 5 May 2021 -
Leftover food or drinks in recyclable containers can contaminate entire loads.
— Talis Shelbourne, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 May 2021 -
Those who had close contact with obviously sick or dead poultry/wild birds, or surfaces contaminated by them, are urged to contact their state or local health department.
— Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 7 Dec. 2024 -
Critics say hollowing out naturally occurring salt caves by leaching the salt with water can cause brine to contaminate nearby water and ground.
— David Hodari, WSJ, 14 May 2021 -
This enclosed sterile system allows for the sterile packaging to be formed, filled, and sealed to ensure no bacterial or pathogens can be introduced to contaminate the milk.
— Kristy Alpert, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 May 2021 -
The water, filled with heavy metals and other pollutants, threatens to contaminate the drinking water from rivers and wells in the area, as well as the surrounding soil, making the land unfit for farming.
— NBC News, 16 May 2021 -
That’s because plants change the soil that they are grown in, says Paul, and so would contaminate the samples.
— Stephen Ornes, Discover Magazine, 23 Dec. 2022 -
These items can cause jams in the balers and contaminate whole batches of plastic.
— Kristin Hostetter, Outside Online, 14 Mar. 2022 -
All that can contaminate water and soil, not to mention lay waste to large tracts of land.
— Bydennis Normile, science.org, 1 Nov. 2022 -
Just don't bring the muckier parts of it inside to build up and contaminate our homes.
— Mark Patrick Taylor, CBS News, 26 May 2023 -
For hard cheeses where the mold is not part of the processing, cut at least 1 inch around and below the mold, taking care not to drag the knife through the mold and cross contaminate the rest.
— Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2022 -
But chromium is present in the crust and might have leached into the layer and contaminated it.
— Byadam Mann, science.org, 15 Aug. 2024 -
This urban food myth contends that if food spends just a few seconds on the floor, dirt and germs won’t have much of a chance to contaminate it.
— Paul Dawson, CNN, 27 May 2022 -
The space was too small for large tools; a lubricant for the screws could have contaminated the samples.
— Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2024 -
The virus spreads through droppings or the nasal discharge of an infected bird, which can contaminate dust and soil.
— Josh Funk, USA TODAY, 27 Nov. 2022 -
Because the germs on shoes can easily spread to your floors, and then contaminate your house as a result.
— Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 14 Apr. 2022 -
The same works to help keep out potential bacteria that can contaminate the greens and cause people to get sick.
— Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Aug. 2022 -
Their actions become more toxic and contaminate all of the folks around them.
— Jack Kelly, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2022 -
The other was that ashy sludge could contaminate the water itself.
— Ella Nilsen, CNN, 3 Sep. 2022 -
But cooking deli meat at high heat can kill any germs that may contaminate these products.
— Lisa Rapaport, EverydayHealth.com, 22 July 2024 -
This can lead to surface runoff, which can contaminate water, spread pathogens, seed algae blooms and kill fish.
— Bennet Goldstein, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024 -
The problem with putting a turkey on a higher shelf is that the juices, which are full of bacteria, can drip down and contaminate other food.
— Jennifer Aldrich, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Nov. 2023 -
According to the plaintiffs, the waste from construction and traffic could contaminate the streams and harm fish.
— Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Dec. 2021 -
The child who brought the gummy bears was one of the seven who fell sick, and their sibling also brought gummy bears but they were not contaminated.
— Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 14 Dec. 2023 -
The virus can spread through contact with body fluids, sores or items such as clothing and bedding contaminated with the virus.
— Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN, 11 May 2023 -
Sometimes toxic fumes from other parts of the plane can get sucked into the main cabin and, since there's no filter, contaminate the air.
— Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 20 June 2024 -
Earlier this year, wellness devotees largely hailing from California sought out raw milk contaminated with bird flu in the hopes that drinking it would give them antibodies.
— Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contaminate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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