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
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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
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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:
It was only Snell’s second start of the season, after a late build-up in spring training because of shoulder fatigue, a May season debut, and surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
To overcome this problem, the team built on past work and developed a way to remove much of the unwanted background DNA before sequencing begins.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Rescuers formed human chains to remove bricks and masonry, stopping every few minutes to listen for signs of life from those trapped below.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
A near-term deal to reopen the strait could ease Gulf energy shipments but wouldn’t remove the threat, said Ellen Wald, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“That’s right, cadet,” said Professor Brown with a sympathetic smile as she leaned down to remove the probes on my arms and legs so I could sit up.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Before surgery, Amabile shared that he would undergo a craniotomy, a surgery in which a neurosurgeon temporarily removes a piece of the skull to reach the brain and remove the tumor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Lib Dems also said the current bill removes the duty for the NHS to cooperate with the Care Quality Commission in providing key safety data and removes automatic "safe space" protections for whistleblowers.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The goal was to determine how much carbon dioxide the forest removes from the atmosphere and stores in its wood.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
If China removes export restrictions, which could happen before Xi and Trump meet, fertilizer producers like Mosaic and Nutrien could see conditions improve.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Despite the risk of hookworm, she removes her shoes.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The group also says that in January 2020 more than 2,000 hooded vultures were found dead in Guinea-Bissau, many with their heads removed - a sign of belief-based practices rather than natural causes, researchers say.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Last week, the National Academy of Sciences, a Congressionally-chartered yet independent body, removed from its website a chapter on climate science from a manual for judges.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
But after several months and multiple price cuts, it had still not secured a buyer and was removed from the market at the end of 2018.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
When the researchers used a different calculation that removed severely derogatory balances, they found that the pace of delinquencies stabilized after 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
He pinned down fronds with his fingers, removed his straw farm hat, and fanned himself absently with its wide brim, that mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
New York Fed researchers found that the pace of credit-card delinquencies stabilized after 2024 when removing severely derogatory balances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“We sincerely hope that this review is not merely a pretense for removing California’s ability to hold public hearings on offshore oil and gas projects,” said Kate Huckelbridge, executive director of the Coastal Commission.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
"Our goal should be for American open source models to be the best globally. This requires removing the hurdles that make it harder for American open source models to compete," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The paper quotes No.10 figures suggesting that removing the "traps" could save the average person "£170 a year".
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Dragon Sighs were strong, whipping past in sudden bursts, and it was so warm I considered removing my coat.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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.
