autoclave
Americannoun
-
a heavy vessel for conducting chemical reactions under high pressure.
-
Medicine/Medical, Bacteriology. an apparatus in which steam under pressure effects sterilization.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a strong sealed vessel used for chemical reactions at high pressure
-
an apparatus for sterilizing objects (esp surgical instruments) or for cooking by means of steam under pressure
-
civil engineering a vessel in which freshly cast concrete or sand-lime bricks are cured very rapidly in high-pressure steam
verb
Etymology
Origin of autoclave
1875–80; < French, equivalent to auto- auto- 1 + clave < Latin clāv-, stem of clāvis key and clāvus nail
Explanation
An autoclave is a piece of medical equipment that's used to sterilize tools and instruments. After a dentist examines your teeth, she'll put her dental tools in an autoclave to clean them for the next patient. An autoclave uses high pressure and extremely hot steam to sterilize instruments. It's a vital piece of equipment in a hospital or a lab, since autoclaves make it easy to ensure that medical tools are completely clean and sterile. In French, autoclave means "self-locking," from auto-, "self, and the Latin clavis, "key."
Vocabulary lists containing autoclave
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for March 26–April 1, 2022
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
This Week In Words, July 18–24, 2020
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In one of Halt's buildings they have a huge machine called an autoclave, consisting mainly of two large horizontal tubes.
From BBC • Nov. 6, 2025
She transferred and adhered the nanotube forest in between the two middle layers of the composite, then cooked the material in an autoclave to cure.
From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2024
They carried out three trials per jar, sterilizing the containers in an autoclave before each trial.
From Scientific American • May 16, 2023
At first, it carried the thrill of a secret world: The office building was locked — just me and the janitors and the whir of the autoclave.
From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2022
While he explained to her that his job was building runways in the fields of northern France, his eyes kept returning to the steel forceps she had collected from the autoclave.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
