# isolate

Pronunciation: say "Y-suh-layt" US /ˈaɪsəˌleɪt/, UK /ˈaɪsəleɪt/

## Verb

1. To set someone or something apart from others, cutting off contact or connection.
   - Simple: To keep a person or thing apart from everyone or everything else.
   - _The new policy could isolate small businesses from major suppliers._
   - _The sudden move had isolated her from old friends._
2. To place a person or animal in quarantine, separating them to prevent the spread of infection.
   - Simple: To keep a sick person or animal away from others so an illness cannot spread.
   - _The hospital chose to isolate everyone exposed to the outbreak._
   - _Travelers returning from the region were isolated for two weeks._
3. To insulate something from outside forces, keeping it free of external influence.
   - Simple: To protect something from outside forces so they cannot affect it.
   - _Engineers worked to isolate the experiment from any outside vibration._
   - _The committee's decision isolated the inquiry from political pressure._
4. To withdraw from contact with others by remaining apart, typically to avoid transmitting or catching an illness.
   - Simple: To stay away from other people on your own, often to avoid spreading an illness.
   - _Anyone with symptoms was advised to isolate immediately._
   - _She isolated for a week until her test came back clear._
6. To separate a substance in pure form from a mixture of other materials.
   - Simple: To take a pure form of a substance out of a mixture.
   - _Researchers managed to isolate the compound responsible for the smell._
   - _She isolated caffeine from a batch of tea leaves._
7. To separate a pure strain of bacteria or similar microbes from a mixed culture.
   - Simple: To separate one pure kind of bacteria from a mixture of many kinds.
   - _Microbiologists aimed to isolate the pathogen from the contaminated water._
   - _They isolated several yeast strains from the fermentation tank._
8. To insulate an electrical component from its power source, cutting off the supply of electricity to it.
   - Simple: To cut off an electrical part from the power so no electricity reaches it.
   - _Technicians must isolate the transformer before carrying out repairs._
   - _He isolated the damaged section from the rest of the grid._

## Noun

Pronunciation: say "Y-suh-luht" /ˈaɪ.sə.lət/

5. A thing that has been separated out from a larger group, mixture, or population.
   - Simple: A thing that has been separated and taken out from a larger group or mixture.
   - _The clinic forwarded the isolate to a reference laboratory._
   - _Several isolates from the outbreak shared the same genetic markers._

## Adjective

Pronunciation: say "Y-suh-luht" /ˈaɪ.sə.lət/

9. Standing apart from others; solitary and removed from company or surroundings. *(literary)*
   - Simple: Set apart and far from others, alone or on its own.
   - _The lighthouse keeper led an isolate life on the rocky shore._
   - _An isolate figure waited at the far end of the platform._

## Origin

A back-formation from 'isolated', which came from French 'isolé', from Italian 'isolato', from Latin 'īnsulatus' (the source also of 'insulate').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/isolate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).