inoculate

 
Pronunciation: /ɪˈnɒkjʊleɪt/

verb

[with object]
  • treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease; vaccinate: he inoculated his tenants against smallpox
  • introduce (an infective agent) into an organism: the micro-organism can be inoculated into laboratory animals
  • introduce (cells or organisms) into a culture medium: 0.5 ml of the specimen was inoculated into each tissue culture flask

Derivatives

inoculable

adjective

inoculative

Pronunciation: /-lətɪv/
adjective

inoculator

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'graft a bud or shoot into a different plant'): from Latin inoculat- 'engrafted', from the verb inoculare, from in- 'into' + oculus 'eye, bud'. The sense 'vaccinate' dates from the early 18th century

Spelling help

Spell inoculate with one n and one c.