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.
• The volume was great enough for the flow to exit the school and contaminate its playground.
  — oregonlive, 28 Mar. 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
• 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
• 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
• Seine swimming had been banned since 1923, the year before Paris last hosted the Olympics, due to the health risk posed by a river contaminated by a city’s wastewater.
  — Helen Massy-Beresford, WIRED, 2 Aug. 2024
• However, if the air is contaminated, the number will decrease and the ring of light will change to either orange or red.
  — Brandi Fuller, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 July 2023
• If the flows were allowed to raise the underground aquifer’s level high enough, the water table could reach the landfill and contaminate the water.
  — Ian James, AZCentral.com, 8 Sep. 2021
• Touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and then touching your mouth or eating without washing your hands.
  — Maia Pandey, Journal Sentinel, 19 Dec. 2024
• But nobody knows how much of that fertilizer is contaminated with PFAS, which can be absorbed by crops and consumed by livestock, and then enter the food supply.
  — Alejandra Martinez, Austin American-Statesman, 9 Dec. 2024

Last Updated: 3 Jan 2025