noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An agent that kills pathogenic organisms; a disinfectant.
2. 2
   an agent (as heat or radiation or a chemical) that destroys microorganisms that might carry disease wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

disinfectantaborticideacaricideanthelminticantibioticantimicrobial

Example

More examples

"Vinegar is a good descaler and germicide."

Etymology

From germ + -cide.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.