contamination

/kənˌtæmɪˈneɪʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /kənˌtæmɪˈneɪʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /kən-ˌta-mə-ˈnā-shən/ (ame, mw)

contamination — noun

1. the action or result of harmful, dirty, or unwanted material entering and spoili

1.名詞B2
釋義

the action or result of harmful, dirty, or unwanted material entering and spoiling something such as food, water, soil, or air, making it unsafe to use.

例句

Anya tested the river water for contamination after the chemical leak from the factory.

collocation: testing for contamination

Chef Sivan washed her knives carefully to prevent contamination of the raw fish on the counter.

collocation: prevent contamination of [food]

同義詞
  • pollution

    broader; usually about the wider environment (air, oceans), not a single object

  • infection

    specifically about living agents (bacteria, viruses) entering a body or wound

  • impurity

    more neutral; the unwanted substance itself, not the process

反義詞
  • purity

    the state of being clean and free from unwanted substances

  • sterilization

    the active process of removing all contamination

文法句型

contamination of [substance/place]

contamination by [agent]

用法筆記

Subject is usually something that should be clean and safe — food, water, soil, air, blood, or a medical sample. Frequently paired with 'prevent', 'cause', 'risk of', or 'level of'.

常見錯誤

❌There is a contamination in the water.
✅There is contamination in the water.
💡'contamination' is uncountable; do not use 'a' or 'an' with it.
❌The food got a contamination.
✅The food was contaminated.
💡use the verb 'contaminate' for the event happening to one item; reserve the noun for the broader phenomenon.

2. a specific harmful substance or agent — such as a chemical, a germ, or a piece o

2.名詞C1
釋義

a specific harmful substance or agent — such as a chemical, a germ, or a piece of dirt — that has entered something clean and spoiled it.

例句

The lab found three different contaminations in the bottled water sample from Vikram's factory.

countable usage in technical contexts

Engineers must remove all contaminations from the silicon chip before sealing it inside the device.

collocation: remove contaminations

同義詞
  • contaminant

    more common in everyday and scientific use for a single polluting substance

  • impurity

    neutral term, often used in chemistry for any unwanted component

  • pollutant

    usually about the environment rather than food or lab samples

文法句型

contaminations in [substance]

remove contaminations

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: here 'contamination' is a countable thing you can point at and count (a chemical, a germ), whereas sense 1 is the uncountable process or state. Common in scientific, industrial, and technical writing.

常見錯誤

❌The water has many contamination.
✅The water has many contaminations.' or 'The water has many contaminants.
💡when countable, add the plural -s, or switch to the more natural noun 'contaminants'.