/ ˈaɪsəleɪt; NAmE / verb [ vn ]
1.
isolate sb / yourself / sth (from sb/sth) to separate sb/sth physically or socially from other people or things :
Patients with the disease should be isolated.
He was immediately isolated from the other prisoners.
This decision will isolate the country from the rest of Europe.
2.
isolate sth (from sth) to separate a part of a situation, problem, idea, etc. so that you can see what it is and deal with it separately :
It is possible to isolate a number of factors that contributed to her downfall.
3.
isolate sth (from sth) ( technical ) to separate a single substance, cell, etc. from others so that you can study it :
Researchers are still trying to isolate the gene that causes this abnormality.
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WORD ORIGIN
early 19th cent. (as a verb): back-formation from isolated .