isolate

American  

[ahy-suh-leyt, ahy-suh-lit, -leyt] / ˈaɪ səˌleɪt, ˈaɪ sə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

isolated, isolating

1. to set or place apart; detach or separate so as to be alone.

2. Medicine/Medical. to keep (an infected person) from contact with noninfected persons; quarantine.

3. Chemistry, Bacteriology. to obtain (a substance or microorganism) in an uncombined or pure state.

4. Electricity. to insulate.

5. Television. to single out (a person, action, etc.) for a camera closeup.

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noun

1. a person, thing, or group that is set apart or isolated, as for purposes of study.

2. Psychology. a person, often shy or lacking in social skills, who avoids the company of others and has no friends within a group.

3. Biology. an inbreeding population that is isolated from similar populations by physiological, behavioral, or geographic barriers.

4. Also called language isolate.  Linguistics. a language with no demonstrable genetic relationship, as Basque.

5. something that has been isolated, as a by-product in a manufacturing process.

   an isolate of soy flour.

adjective

1. isolated; alone.

isolate British  

verb

1. to place apart; cause to be alone

2. med to quarantine (a person or animal) having or suspected of having a contagious disease

3. to obtain (a compound) in an uncombined form

4. to obtain pure cultures of (bacteria, esp those causing a particular disease)

5. electronics to prevent interaction between (circuits, components, etc); insulate

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noun

1. an isolated person or group

Other Word Forms

• isolability noun
• isolable adjective
• isolator noun
• reisolate verb (used with object)
• unisolate verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of isolate

First recorded in 1800–10; back formation from isolated

Example Sentences

"Nothing in and of itself will fix this but these activities will bring prices down. They won't isolate the UK - we're part of a global system - but they will bring prices down."

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

At their best, sci-fi thought experiments isolate technological shocks, project them forward under different conditions of social and environmental stress, and ask: What breaks first?

From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026

Phages are relatively easy to isolate, and studying their genomes could reveal additional biological insights and new antibiotic targets.

From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026

This could have been an opportunity for Washington to isolate the isolator.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

She and her division chief went back and forth over the data, trying to isolate the discrepancy.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• confine
• detach
• disconnect
• disengage
• divide
• insulate
• remove
• segregate
• separate
• sequester