remove
Americanverb (used with object)
-
removes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
removed,
past participle, past
-
removing
present participle
-
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)
-
removes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
removed,
past participle, past
-
removing
present participle
-
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
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removabilitynoun
-
removernoun
-
preremoveverb (used with object)
-
removableadjective
-
removablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
removesimple
-
removessimple
-
have removedperfect
-
has removedperfect
-
am removingprogressive
-
are removingprogressive
-
is removingprogressive
-
have been removingperfect progressive
-
has been removingperfect progressive
Past
-
removedsimple
-
had removedperfect
-
was removingprogressive
-
were removingprogressive
-
had been removingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
Tsuda is demanding TikTok remove a slew of videos narrated by a distinctively "deep" and "lustrous" voice that the 55-year-old says can only be his.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Snell, who missed time because of a late spring training build-up and arthroscopic surgery in May to remove loose bodies from his left elbow, finished the regular season with just 42⅔ innings pitched.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Tebow’s decision to pause his relationship with Life Surge therefore does more than remove another celebrity from the company’s roster of speakers.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
But I was covering these cases as a foreign reporter, watching from an emotional remove.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Kennedy agreed to the proposal in Khrushchev’s “knot of war” letter—the Soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba, and the United States would give, as the letter put it, “assurances against an invasion of Cuba.”
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
"Importantly, cleaning removes viruses and bacteria from surfaces, but it can also generate invisible air pollution. There's no visible dust or smoke in the air, but these particles are forming."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Millions of Americans retire with far less than a six-figure savings account, and being single in retirement removes a second income stream that couples can rely on.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
That is what I want from a back-pocket formula: something that removes decisions without removing choice.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Nobody should begrudge a fighter for accepting a life-changing world-title shot, but bypassing the traditional British, Commonwealth and European route removes learning fights.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
When she removes the molds, they make popping sounds, like suction cups.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Work-requirement exemptions for some groups — including certain homeless people, veterans and young adults formerly in foster care — were removed.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
Being removed from the Premier League would mean City lose their membership and are demoted to a lower division from the end of the season.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
At that time, Bonin was facing a backlash over the installation of several “road diets” — projects that removed vehicle lanes from Vista Del Mar in Playa del Rey and other major corridors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
In July, the administration introduced new loan repayment options and removed others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
First, as gently as he could, he removed his father’s beaver-hide boots, and drew a circle on each heel to mark the name-soul.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The results suggest that removing senescent cells before an injury may leave aging skin better prepared to launch an effective repair response.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
She decided to get a blepharoplasty, or a "bleph", removing skin from just above the eyes - after seeing videos about it on social media.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
After the 2024 fire, Lineage representatives asked Los Angeles City Hall about removing an emergency shutdown switch from the solar panels, according to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
The detente paused a bruising trade war last year by reducing US tariffs on Chinese goods and removing Beijing's export controls on rare earths vital to manufacturing.
From Barron's
“I am not your friend,” I said, removing the book she’d just picked up from her hands.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
