1
a
: failing to bear or incapable of producing fruit or spores
b
: failing to produce or incapable of producing offspring
a sterile hybrid
c
: incapable of germinating
sterile spores
d
of a flower
: neither perfect nor pistillate
2
a
: unproductive of vegetation
a sterile arid region
b
: free from living organisms and especially pathogenic microorganisms
a sterile syringe
c
: lacking in stimulating emotional or intellectual quality : lifeless
a sterile work of art
Examples of sterile in a Sentence
a sterile dressing for a wound
sterile couples sometimes choose to adopt needy children
Recent Examples on the Web
Avoid sterile, clinical environments that can be intimidating.
—
Ajay Prasad, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
The Pitt is set in Pittsburgh, not Chicago, and the season unfolds in real time, with overlapping crises ratcheting up tension as the cast careens around the sterile white set.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2025
Everything While neutral tones have long been favored for creating bright and airy spaces, experts say all-white and gray interiors can feel sterile.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
Her dance team performances were supplanted with physical therapy, and high school classrooms replaced with sterile examination rooms.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
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Ajay Prasad, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
The Pitt is set in Pittsburgh, not Chicago, and the season unfolds in real time, with overlapping crises ratcheting up tension as the cast careens around the sterile white set.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2025
Everything While neutral tones have long been favored for creating bright and airy spaces, experts say all-white and gray interiors can feel sterile.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
Her dance team performances were supplanted with physical therapy, and high school classrooms replaced with sterile examination rooms.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Cite this Entry
“Sterile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sterile. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sterile
adjective
ster·ile
ˈster-əl 
1
: not able to produce fruit, crops, or offspring : not fertile
sterile soil
2
: free from microscopic living things and especially germs (as bacteria and viruses)
a sterile dressing for a wound
Medical Definition
sterile
adjective
ster·ile
ˈster-əl, chiefly British -ˌīl
1
: failing to produce or incapable of producing offspring
a sterile hybrid
compare infertile
2
: free from living organisms and especially microorganisms
a sterile syringe
a sterile cyst
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