isolate

Definition of isolate

[with object]

1cause (a person or place) to be or remain alone or apart from others:a country which is isolated from the rest of the world
place (a person or animal) in quarantine as a precaution against infectious or contagious disease.

2identify (something) and examine or deal with it separately:his difficulty will be to isolate the factors which are most significant
cut off the electrical or other connection to (something, especially a part of a supply network): engineers isolated the gas supply to the house
Chemistry & Biology obtain or extract (a compound, microorganism, etc.) in a pure form: the medical world would never come to grips with polio until it could isolate the virus which caused it

1a person or thing which has been or become isolated:social isolates often become careless of their own welfare

Derivatives

early 19th century (as a verb): back-formation from isolated

Definition of isolate in the US English dictionary