isolating

Verb

isolate (third-person singular simple present isolates, present participle isolating, simple past and past participle isolated)

1. (transitive) To set apart or cut off from others.
   • By isolating these two main types of relation, hyponymy and incompatibility, we can characterize the relations between a large web of items.1977, Ruth Kempson, Semantic Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 86

   Synonyms:

   island, enisle, quarantine

2. (transitive) To place in quarantine or isolation.

   Synonyms:

   quarantine

3. (transitive) To separate a substance in pure form from a mixture.
   • To isolate the petroline the condensed oil is distilled again until fifty per cent. of oil has been obtained, and what is left in the still is petroline.1871, English Patents of Inventions, Specifications: 1871, 901 - 946, page 6
4. (transitive) To insulate, or make free of external influence.
   • One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891, archived from the original on 09 Jan 2025
5. (transitive) To separate a pure strain of bacteria etc. from a mixed culture.
6. (transitive) To insulate an electrical component from a source of electricity.

See all 9 meanings of isolate