diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 48a823e..56769db 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.9
 	github.com/invopop/jsonschema v0.11.0
 	github.com/jpillora/longestcommon v0.0.0-20161227235612-adb9d91ee629
+	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4
 	golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20230905200255-921286631fa9
 )
 
@@ -21,8 +22,10 @@ require (
 	github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go/sdk/internal v1.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/bahlo/generic-list-go v0.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/buger/jsonparser v1.1.1 // indirect
+	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 // indirect
 	github.com/kr/text v0.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.7 // indirect
+	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/wk8/go-ordered-map/v2 v2.1.8 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.15.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/text v0.13.0 // indirect
diff --git a/jsonschema/sanitize.go b/jsonschema/sanitize.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..095074a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jsonschema/sanitize.go
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package jsonschema
+
+import (
+	"net/url"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/invopop/jsonschema"
+	"golang.org/x/exp/maps"
+)
+
+func Sanitize(sc *jsonschema.Schema) {
+	refs := collectRefs(sc)
+
+	for key := range sc.Definitions {
+		if _, ok := refs[key]; !ok {
+			delete(sc.Definitions, key)
+		}
+	}
+
+	for p := sc.Properties.Oldest(); p != nil; p = p.Next() {
+		Sanitize(p.Value)
+	}
+}
+
+func collectRefs(sc *jsonschema.Schema) map[string]bool {
+	refs := make(map[string]bool)
+	if len(sc.Ref) > 0 {
+		refs[unescapeRef(sc.Ref)] = true
+	}
+
+	for p := sc.Properties.Oldest(); p != nil; p = p.Next() {
+		maps.Copy(refs, collectRefs(p.Value))
+	}
+
+	return refs
+}
+
+func unescapeRef(ref string) string {
+	ref = strings.TrimPrefix(ref, "#/$defs/")
+
+	var err error
+	ref, err = url.PathUnescape(ref)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	ref = strings.ReplaceAll(ref, "~1", "/")
+	ref = strings.ReplaceAll(ref, "~0", "~")
+	return ref
+}
diff --git a/jsonschema/sanitize_test.go b/jsonschema/sanitize_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87df8ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jsonschema/sanitize_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+package jsonschema
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/invopop/jsonschema"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestSanitize(t *testing.T) {
+	sc := &jsonschema.Schema{
+		Properties: jsonschema.NewProperties(),
+	}
+
+	sc.Definitions = jsonschema.Definitions{
+		"key": new(jsonschema.Schema),
+	}
+
+	require.NotPanics(t, func() { Sanitize(sc) })
+	require.Empty(t, sc.Definitions)
+}