sterilization

noun

1. (British, English, Oxford, US, uncountable)The process of treating something to kill or inactivate microorganisms.

   “Heat sterilization is used during canning so the food can be safely stored for long periods.”

2. (British, English, Oxford, US, uncountable)A procedure to permanently prevent an organism from reproducing.

   “Spaying a cat is a form of sterilization to limit the population growth.”

   “One the most chilling parts of the film, which is available online, involves an appearance by Adolf Hitler. Ferrari shows how America’s sterilization policies inspired Nazi Germany’s leaders to launch their own eugenics program, which later led to genocide.”

3. (British, English, Oxford, US, countable)An instance of a sterilization procedure.

   “The vet performed several sterilizations this week.”

   “The eugenics mania that swept the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to forced sterilizations and the passage of laws in 27 states designed to limit the numbers of those considered genetically unfit: immigrants, Jews, African-Americans, the mentally ill and those deemed “morally delinquent.””

4. (British, English, Oxford, US, uncountable)A monetary policy operation used to offset a foreign exchange intervention.

   “The Federal Reserve is responsible for foreign exchange sterilization.”

5. (British, English, Oxford, US, uncountable)The process of permanently rendering a planet like Earth completely uninhabitable to all life, including even microbes, leading to their complete extinction.

   “In about 1 billion years, the increasing heat from the Sun as it gradually ages, by triggering a runaway greenhouse effect that will boil away the oceans, will lead to the complete sterilization of all life on Earth.”