How to Use decontaminate in a Sentence
decontaminate
verb- Special workers were called in to decontaminate the area after the oil spill.
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Boaters were able to decontaminate their craft at the event.
—Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 6 July 2023
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Chelsea fire then called in a hazmat team to decontaminate the scene.
—Ajc Homepage, ajc, 5 Aug. 2017
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The base was supposed to be closed, decontaminated and handed over to the city, but after 30 years, 90 percent of it is still in the Navy’s hands.
—Ralph Vartabedian, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023
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In that case, the birds should be culled and the farm decontaminated before bringing in new chickens.
—Elena Bruess, San Antonio Express-News, 1 Mar. 2023
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The only way to break the cycle of infection, Dr. Brennen said, was to find a place to store 500 sick and exposed cats, and decontaminate the shelters.
—Andy Newman, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2017
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The room where the unconscious inmate was found was sealed off while the Sheriff’s Department works to decontaminate the area.
—Evan Sernoffsky, SFChronicle.com, 8 Oct. 2019
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Those doused by the jet fuel were decontaminated with soap and water, and given gowns to wear.
—Faith Karimi, CNN, 16 Jan. 2020
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The government has been removing the topsoil in Iitate in an attempt to decontaminate the town.
—National Geographic, 10 Mar. 2017
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Many of them, including Henry Ford, tried to decontaminate N95 masks so they could be re-used.
—Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 22 Sep. 2020
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Soon after, inmate trustees were called to decontaminate the cell.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2019
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Maybe more cities will step up to decontaminate their waste, like San Francisco.
—Ellen Airhart, WIRED, 20 June 2018
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My mission: decontaminate the joint before my favorite seven-year-old comes to sleep over on the Aerobed.
—Jonathan Takiff, Philly.com, 27 July 2017
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The two workers in the UNC lab at the time of the incident left and allowed the aerosolized particles from the incident to settle to the ground before returning to decontaminate the area.
—Jessica Blake, ProPublica, 17 Aug. 2020
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The other workers were decontaminated on the scene and had no symptoms.
—CBS News, 19 June 2019
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Traces of Novichok were found in a restaurant and a bar near where Skripal and his daughter were found, but the area was thoroughly decontaminated.
—Fortune, 5 July 2018
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How much land must be decontaminated, before it's done, and how far must it be cleaned up before people can (or want to) return?
—Andrew Karam, Popular Mechanics, 11 Mar. 2016
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Those hit by the jet fuel were decontaminated with soap and water, and did not need to be hospitalized, said Sgt.
—Faith Karimi, CNN, 15 Jan. 2020
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Most areas have been decontaminated to the point where full bodysuits are no longer required.
—Vince Beiser, WIRED, 26 Apr. 2018
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The team is also testing antiseptics that could be used to decontaminate caves in an attempt to stop the fungus's spread.
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 13 Sep. 2010
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None of the inmates are at risk of death, according to Fox 17, and the jail, roughly 30 miles northeast of Nashville, is being decontaminated.
—Nicole Darrah, Fox News, 16 Apr. 2018
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The bill, which has already passed the House, requires people to decontaminate their boats by cleaning and draining them after leaving the water.
—USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2020
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Over 100 children got sick with the stomach-churning bug, and the school doors remained closed until workers could decontaminate the lockers, desks and hallways.
—Joseph Eisenberg, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2020
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The locks were decontaminated one hair at a time using tweezers and a light bleach concentration; they were then rinsed in water and put into a test tube.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 22 Mar. 2023
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Several locations in the city have been cordoned off and decontaminated since the pair were found unconscious on a park bench on March 5.
—Simon Cotton, Scientific American, 9 Mar. 2018
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The first responders were released from quarantine with instructions to decontaminate at their home stations, just to be on the safe side.
—Chicago Tribune, 22 Sep. 2022
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This raises the question: How can a device made from CDs decontaminate water?
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Jan. 2023
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The question of whether the water could be decontaminated to safe levels is a matter of degree, scientists say.
—BostonGlobe.com, 24 Dec. 2019
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As Thomas comes to learn, decontaminating the hot springs would require a complete overhaul of the town’s water system, which would shutter the resort for years and effectively bankrupt taxpayers.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024
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Bedding and furniture need to be completely decontaminated, while medicines like permethrin are not the easiest to use.
—David Cox, WIRED, 17 Jan. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decontaminate.' 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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