germfree

American  

[jurm-free, -free] / ˈdʒɜrmˈfri, -ˌfri /

Or germ-free

adjective

1. free of germs; sterile.

   This kind of research should be done in a germfree laboratory.

2. (of experimental animals) born and raised under sterile conditions.

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Etymology

Origin of germfree

First recorded in 1930–35; germ + -free

Example Sentences

If you take mice that are germfree, those that have a sterile gut with no commensal bacteria, the phenomenon of oral tolerance does not occur.

From Scientific American • Feb. 23, 2015

Small animals such as rats, mice and guinea pigs will breed in the germfree tanks, so that once the line has been established, generation after generation is born germfree.

From Time Magazine Archive

Explains the center's Co-Director Dr. Harry B. Benaron: "We don't say that newspapers are germfree, but they are certainly cleaner than the sheets we find in the average home."

From Time Magazine Archive

In this trap the surgeon's breath is both dried and filtered; the exhaled air escapes backward from the mask's wings, is almost germfree.

From Time Magazine Archive

And truly germfree surgery on human patients, fulfilling a century-old dream, will soon be possible.

From Time Magazine Archive