disinfectant
noun
Note: Common chemical disinfectants include chlorine, calcium and sodium hypochlorite, iodophor, phenol, ethanol, and quaternary ammonium compounds. Disinfectants are often distinguished from sterilants by having reduced effectiveness against dormant bacterial endospores.
Examples of disinfectant in a Sentence
Melanie Radzicki McManus, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025
Make sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for the disinfectant product, including contact time (the time the surface needs to remain wet with the disinfectant to be effective).
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 13 Jan. 2025
Boiling, freezing, filtering, adding chlorine or other disinfectants, or letting water stand will not make the water safe to drink.
—Shyla Watson, People.com, 10 Jan. 2025
Krupin spent about $1,000 on initial supplies — a children’s gardening rake, trash bags, gloves, a dust pan and disinfectant — as well as an LLC, business insurance, a website domain, a cargo trailer and hitch for her car.
—Morgan Smith, CNBC, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for disinfectant 
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Cite this Entry
“Disinfectant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disinfectant. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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disinfectant
1 of 2 noun
Note: Common chemical disinfectants include chlorine, calcium and sodium hypochlorite, iodophor, phenol, ethanol, and quaternary ammonium compounds. Disinfectants are often distinguished from sterilants by having reduced effectiveness against dormant bacterial endospores.
disinfectant
2 of 2 adjective
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