Meanings
verbdisinfect (third-person singular simple present disinfects, present participle disinfecting, simple past and past participle disinfected)
present singular third person disinfects · participle present disinfecting · participle past disinfected · past disinfected
- To sterilize by the use of cleaning agent.
An on-board cleaner passes through, disinfecting every grabrail and handhold as they pass.
2020 November 4, Paul Bigland, “At no point have I felt unsafe...”, in Rail, page 47
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Frenchdesinfecter
- Englishdisinfect
From English dis- + infect, from Middle French desinfecter.
More words from Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian дезинфекцирам, обеззаразявам
- дезинфекцирам (dezinfekciram)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- обеззаразявам (obezzarazjavam)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Catalan desinfectar
- desinfectarsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Chinese Mandarin 消毒
- 消毒 (xiāodú)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Danish desinficere
- desinficeresterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Esperanto antisepsi, desinfekti
- antisepsisterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- desinfektisterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Finnish desinfioida
- desinfioidasterilize by the use of cleaning agent
French désinfecter
- désinfectersterilize by the use of cleaning agent
German desinfizieren
- desinfizierensterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Greek απολυμαίνω
- απολυμαίνω (apolymaíno)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Hebrew חיטא \ חִטֵּא
- חיטא \ חִטֵּא (khité)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Hungarian fertőtlenít
- fertőtlenítsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Italian disinfettare
- disinfettaresterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Japanese 消毒する
- 消毒する (shōdoku suru)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Malay nyahjangkit, nyahkuman
- nyahjangkitsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- nyahkumansterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Norwegian desinfisere
- desinfiseresterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Polish dezynfekować, zdezynfekować
- dezynfekowaćsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- zdezynfekowaćsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- odkażaćsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- odkazićsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Portuguese desinfetar
- desinfetarsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Russian дезинфици́ровать, обеззара́живать
- дезинфици́ровать (dezinficírovatʹ)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- обеззара́живать (obezzaráživatʹ)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- обеззара́зить (obezzarázitʹ)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Spanish desinfectar
- desinfectarsterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Swedish desinfektera
- desinfekterasterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Ukrainian дезінфікува́ти, продезінфікува́ти
- дезінфікува́ти (dezinfikuváty)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- продезінфікува́ти (prodezinfikuváty)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- знезара́жувати (znezarážuvaty)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
- знезара́зити (znezarázyty)sterilize by the use of cleaning agent
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with disinfect
subjectprojectselectdirecteffectobjectperfectrespectconnectcorrectprotectexpectaffectreflectcollectcheckedsuspectdetectincorrectindirectprospectelectdefectneglect
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
disinfect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disinfect
MLA
“disinfect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disinfect. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “disinfect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disinfect.
Source: disinfect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.