contaminate

3 definitions • 5 examples

to make something less pure or make it poisonous:

Much of the coast has been contaminated by nuclear waste.

The food which had been contaminated was destroyed.

to make something less pure or make it poisonous:

The disease can be caused by a variety of viruses, bacteria, and other small organisms that contaminate food or water.

to make something less pure or make it poisonous:

The government recently reported that 10% of farmland has been destroyed by pollution and that heavy metals contaminate 12 million tons of grain a year.

There are fears that exported products could contaminate food supplies abroad.