contaminant

IPA/kənˈtæmɪnənt/
KK[kəntˈæmənənt]IPA/kənˈtæmɪnənt/

contaminant — noun

  • contaminantsingular
  • contaminantsplural

1. a substance that gets into food, water, or another material and makes it dirty,

1.nounC1
Definition

a substance that gets into food, water, or another material and makes it dirty, unsafe, or no longer pure.

Example

The lab found a contaminant in the cough syrup after several children got sick.

find a contaminant in [product]

Tiny metal flakes became a contaminant in the flour during packaging.

Common collocations
  • food contaminant
  • water contaminant
  • chemical contaminant
  • trace contaminant
  • foreign contaminant
Synonyms
  • pollutant

    usually narrower and more strongly linked to harm in air, water, or soil

  • impurity

    often more technical and can describe an unwanted substance even when it is not dangerous

  • toxin

    stresses poisonous effect, especially in biology or medicine

  • residue

    emphasizes material left behind after a process and does not always imply danger

Grammar Patterns

find a contaminant in [food/water/sample]

remove contaminants from [something]

Usage Note

Often used in food safety, laboratory, and environmental contexts. It names the unwanted material itself, not the process or condition of contamination.

Common Mistakes

The lab found a contamination in the milk.
The lab found a contaminant in the milk.
contamination is the dirty condition or event; contaminant is the substance itself.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A contaminant is any unwanted substance that gets into something that should stay clean, safe, or pure. Pollutant is narrower and usually points to environmental harm in air, water, or soil. Impurity is often more technical and can mean a small extra substance in metal, medicine, or another material even when it is not dangerous. Toxin stresses poisonous effect and is especially common in biology and medicine, often for substances made by living things. So glass in baby food is a contaminant, smoke from trucks is a pollutant, extra metal in a drug is an impurity, and botulinum toxin is a toxin.

contaminant ↗pollutant ↗impurity ↗toxin ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • trace contaminant
  • chemical contaminant
  • remove contaminants from

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Contaminant is an English noun built from contaminate and the ending -ant, which can name a thing that causes an action. Contaminate goes back to the Latin verb contaminare, meaning to make something unclean by bringing it into bad contact or mixing it with something dirty. That history still fits the modern meaning: a contaminant is the unwanted substance that enters something and spoils its purity or safety.