# sterilization

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #25,596

## Definitions
1. The process of treating something to kill or inactivate microorganisms.
2. A procedure to permanently prevent an organism from reproducing.
3. An instance of a sterilization procedure.
4. A monetary policy operation used to offset a foreign exchange intervention.
5. The process of permanently rendering a planet like Earth completely uninhabitable to all life, including even microbes, leading to their complete extinction.

## Etymology
From sterile + -ization or sterilize + -ation.

## Easily confused with
- **stabilization** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stabilization-vs-sterilization)

## Common misspellings (20)
`setrilization`, `ssterilization`, `steirlization`, `steriilzation`, `steriliaztion`, `sterilizaiton`, `sterilizasion`, `sterilizatino`, `sterilizationn`, `sterilizatoin`, `sterilizattion`, `steriliztaion`, `sterilizzation`, `sterillization`, `sterilziation`, `sterliization`, `sterrilization`, `streilization`, `stterilization`, `tserilization`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sterilization