As a Noun: 1. A medical operation that makes it impossible for a male or female to produce or have babies. English = sterilisation. 2. A surgical operation that makes it impossible for a female to have or produce babies, by cutting or tying the fallopian tubes. Formal English = tubal ligation. 3. A surgical operation that is done in order to sterilise a man, by cutting the tube that carries sperm to his penis. English = vasectomy. As a Verb or Adjective: 1. To operate on a male or a female so as to make it impossible for him or her to produce or have babies. English = sterilise. 2. Of a woman, to have a tubal ligation. Idiomatic English = have one's tubes tied.