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Noun: autoclave  'o-tu,kleyv
  1. A device for heating substances above their boiling point; used to manufacture chemicals or to sterilize surgical instruments
    "The hospital staff placed the surgical tools in the autoclave before the operation";
    - sterilizer, steriliser [Brit]
Verb: autoclave  'o-tu,kleyv
  1. Subject to the action of an autoclave
    "They autoclaved the surgical instruments to sterilize them"

Derived forms: autoclaves, autoclaved, autoclaving

Type of: sterilise [Brit], sterilize, vessel

Encyclopedia: Autoclave