sanitize
/ˈsæn.ɪ.taɪz/ IELTSAcademic
verb
To make something clean and free from germs, dirt, or harmful substances. In modern use, it can also mean to remove unsafe or unwanted content from data or text.
- Please sanitize your hands before dinner.
- The staff sanitize the equipment every day.
- We need to sanitize the customer data.
Adinary Nuance
Sanitize is more specific than clean. It often means making something safe, especially by removing germs or risky material. It is also more formal than everyday words like wipe or clean up, so it fits instructions, health contexts, and technical writing.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- khử trùng
- Spanish
- sanear
- Chinese
- 消毒
- Japanese
- 消毒する
- Korean
- 살균하다
Etymology
From Latin sanitas, meaning “health,” through French and English use in the 18th century. The data and content meaning became common much later in modern English.
Common phrases
sanitize handssanitize equipmentsanitize datasanitize content
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is sanitize the same as clean?
- Not exactly. Clean means remove dirt; sanitize means reduce germs or make something safer.
- Is sanitize formal or everyday English?
- It is fairly formal. You often see it in health, workplace, and technical writing.
- Can sanitize be used for data?
- Yes. It can mean removing unsafe, private, or unwanted parts from data or text.