To treat or disinfect something with carbolic acid, especially in medical or industrial contexts.
From carbolic acid + -ize (American English suffix meaning to treat, process, or convert). Carbolic acid itself is named for its carbon content. The verb form became common in the late 1800s as the disinfectant gained medical popularity.
Carbolize represents one of medicine's first true chemical breakthroughs—when surgeons started carbolizing their tools and wounds, infection rates plummeted, though carbolic acid is now mostly replaced by safer disinfectants!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.