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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Sterilize \Ster"il*ize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sterilized}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Sterilizing}.] [Cf. F. st['e]riliser.]
1. To make sterile or unproductive; to impoverish, as land;
to exhaust of fertility. [R.] "Sterilizing the earth."
--Woodward.
[1913 Webster]

2. (Biol.) To deprive of the power of reproducing; to render
incapable of germination or fecundation; to make sterile.

3. (Microbiology, Medicine) To destroy all spores or germs in
(an organic fluid or mixture) or on (a medical
instrument), as by heat, so as to prevent contamination by
bacteria or other organisms. A common method of
sterilization in laboratories and medical facilities is to
heat a liquid sample or an instrument in an autoclave.
[1913 Webster PJC]

4. To destroy all spores or germs on (a surface) by wetting
with an antiseptic liquid, such as an alcoholic solution.
[PJC]