remove
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to move from a place or position; take away or off.
to remove the napkins from the table.
- Synonyms:
- dislodge
- Antonyms:
- leave
-
to take off or shed (an article of clothing).
to remove one's jacket.
-
to move or shift to another place or position; transfer.
She removed the painting to another wall.
-
to put out; send away.
to remove a tenant.
-
to dismiss or force from a position or office; discharge.
They removed him for embezzling.
-
to take away, withdraw, or eliminate.
to remove the threat of danger.
-
to get rid of; do away with; put an end to.
to remove a stain;
to remove the source of disease.
-
to kill; assassinate.
- Synonyms:
- murder
verb (used without object)
-
to move from one place to another, especially to another locality or residence.
We remove to Newport early in July.
- Antonyms:
- remain
-
to go away; depart; disappear.
noun
-
the act of removing.
-
a removal from one place, as of residence, to another.
-
the distance by which one person, place, or thing is separated from another.
to see something at a remove.
-
a mental distance from the reality of something as a result of psychological detachment or lack of experience.
to criticize something at a remove.
-
a degree of difference, as that due to descent, transmission, etc..
a folk survival, at many removes, of a druidic rite.
-
a step or degree, as in a graded scale.
-
British. a promotion of a pupil to a higher class or division at school.
verb
-
to take away and place elsewhere
-
to displace (someone) from office; dismiss
-
to do away with (a grievance, cause of anxiety, etc); abolish
-
to cause (dirt, stains, or anything unwanted) to disappear; get rid of
-
euphemistic to assassinate; kill
-
formal (intr) to change the location of one's home or place of business
the publishers have removed to Mayfair
noun
-
the act of removing, esp (formal) a removal of one's residence or place of work
-
the degree of difference separating one person, thing, or condition from another
only one remove from madness
-
(in certain schools) a class or form, esp one for children of about 14 years, designed to introduce them to the greater responsibilities of a more senior position in the school
-
(at a formal dinner, formerly) a dish to be changed while the rest of the course remains on the table
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
preremoveverb (used with object)
-
removabilitynoun
-
removernoun
-
removablyadverb
-
removableadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has removedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have removedperfect
-
have been removingperfect progressive
-
has been removingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
is removingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
are removingprogressive
-
removingparticiple
-
am removingprogressive 1st person singular
-
removessingular 3rd person
Past
-
had removedperfect
-
was removingprogressive singular
-
were removingprogressive plural
-
had been removingperfect progressive
-
removedsimple
-
removedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of remove
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb remeven, remefen, remoeven, from Old French remouvoir, from Latin removēre; see re-, move
Explanation
You can remove your name from a list, remove a stain from a t-shirt, or remove old furniture from your house. Whatever it is, when you remove something, you take it somewhere else or get rid of it completely. The verb remove usually means taking something off or getting rid of something. For example, when you take off your coat, you remove it, or when you remove a skillet from the heat, you take it off the burner. Remove can apply to people: a law-breaking politician who is removed from office. As a noun remove indicates distance, such as being at one remove from your cousin, getting all his news from his mother.
Vocabulary lists containing remove
"Hitching a Ride"
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Workshop 3, Part 1
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Chapter 13: Manifest Destiny
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We wanted everyone to see what a complete and utter coward he is once you remove his powers, pretty much like every autocrat and strongman,” Kripke says.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
However, concerns remain because TFA continues to accumulate and may be extremely difficult to remove once it enters the environment.
From Science Daily • Jun. 9, 2026
Anthropic is releasing a next-generation “Mythos-class” model to the general public with guardrails that remove dangerous capabilities related to areas such as cybersecurity and biological research.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
But if your child abuses the privilege, you can remove them as an authorized user at any time.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Although a decontamination process could remove some of the radioactive isotopes from the water, it couldn’t clean all of it, so most of the wastewater was stored in tanks.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
