A sealed container that uses high temperature and pressure (often steam) to sterilize equipment, instruments, or materials, commonly used in hospitals and laboratories.
From 'auto-' (self) and 'clave' (key, from Latin 'clavis'). The name refers to the self-locking mechanism of the sealed vessel under pressure, which 'locks' itself closed.
Autoclaves are heroes of modern medicine that nobody thinks about—every surgical instrument, every lab sample container has been sterilized by an autoclave. The genius is the self-locking design: pressure builds up and seals itself, so you don't need someone manually locking it down.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.