Search Result for "inoculating": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. the act of protecting against disease by introducing a vaccine into the body to induce immunity;
- Example: "doctors examined the recruits but nurses did the inoculating"
[syn: inoculating, vaccinating]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Inoculate \In*oc"u*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inoculated; p. pr. & vb. n. Inoculating.] [L. inoculatus, p. p. of inoculare to ingraft; pref. in- in, on + oculare to furnish with eyes, fr. oculus an eye, also, a bud. See Ocular.] 1. To bud; to insert, or graft, as the bud of a tree or plant in another tree or plant. [1913 Webster] 2. To insert a foreign bud into; as, to inoculate a tree. [1913 Webster] 3. (Med.) To communicate a disease to (a person) by inserting infectious matter in the skin or flesh, especially as a means of inducing immunological resistance to that or related diseases; as, to inoculate a person with the virus of smallpox, rabies, etc. See Vaccinate. [1913 Webster +PJC] 4. Fig.: To introduce into the mind; -- used especially of harmful ideas or principles; to imbue; as, to inoculate one with treason or infidelity. [1913 Webster] 5. (Microbiology) To introduce microorganisms into (a growth medium), to cause the growth and multiplication of the microorganisms; as, to inoculate a fermentation vat with an actinomycete culture in order to produce streptomycin. [PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

inoculating n 1: the act of protecting against disease by introducing a vaccine into the body to induce immunity; "doctors examined the recruits but nurses did the inoculating" [syn: inoculating, vaccinating]