Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Isolate

Isolate (ī"so*lāt or īs"o*lāt; 277) , transitive verb

[Italian isolato, past participle of isolare to isolate, from isola island, Latin insula. See 2d Isle, and compare Insulate.]

1.
To place in a detached situation; to place by itself or alone; to insulate; to separate from others; as, to isolate an infected person from others; to isolate the troublemakers in a classroom.
Short isolated sentences were the mode in which ancient wisdom delighted to convey its precepts. — Bp. Warburton
2.
(Electricity) To insulate. See Insulate.
3.
(Chemistry) To separate (a substance) from all foreign substances; to make pure; to obtain in a free state; as, to isolate the desired product from a reaction mixture.
4.
(Microbiology) To obtain a culture of a microorganism in pure form (from a complex mixture); as, to isolate Eschericia coli from a patient's blood.

Isolate (ī"so*lat or īs"o*lāt`) , noun

Something that has been isolated; as, an isolate of a powerful antibiotic from a tropical plant; an isolate of tuberculosis bacillus from an infected patient.