sterilization

noun sterilizations · sterilisation

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.
3. British, English, Oxford, US, countable An instance of a sterilization procedure. The vet performed several sterilizations this week.
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.