wipe

American  

[wahyp] / waɪp /

verb (used with object)

wiped, wiping

1. to rub lightly with or on a cloth, towel, paper, the hand, etc., in order to clean or dry the surface of.

   He wiped the furniture with a damp cloth.

2. to rub or draw (something) over a surface, as in cleaning or drying.

3. to remove by rubbing with or on something (usually followed by away, off, out, etc.).

   Wipe the dirt off your shoes. Wipe the dust from the pictures.

4. to remove as if by rubbing (usually followed by away, off, etc.).

   Wipe that smile off your face!

   Synonyms:

   banish , eradicate , erase

5. to erase, as from existence or memory (often followed byfrom ).

   to wipe a thought from one's mind.

6. 1. to erase (magnetic tape, a recording, etc.)

   2. to delete the entire contents and settings of (a digital storage device, mobile device, etc.).

      She remotely wiped her computer after it was stolen.

7. Plumbing.

   1. to apply (solder in a semifluid state) by spreading with leather or cloth over the part to be soldered.

   2. to form (a joint) in this manner.

8. Machinery.  (of a rotating shaft or the like) to melt the brasses of (a bearing) through friction.

9. Australian Slang.  to refuse to have anything to do with; reject; dismiss.

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verb (used without object)

1. (in a video game) to suffer a defeat in which all cooperative player characters in a group are killed.

   After hours in that dungeon, our group wiped and we had to start again from the beginning.

noun

1. an act of wiping.

   He gave a few quick wipes to the furniture.

2. a rub, as of one thing over another.

3. Also called wipe-off.  Movies.  a technique in film editing by which the projected image of a scene appears to be pushed or wiped off the screen by the image that follows.

4. a piece of absorbent material, as of paper or cloth, used for wiping.

5. a sweeping stroke or blow.

6. a gibe.

7. Machinery.  wiper.

8. (in a video game) a defeat in which all cooperative player characters in a group are killed.

   a total party wipe.

9. Slang.  a handkerchief.

verb phrase

1. wipe out

   1. to destroy completely; demolish.

      The entire city was wiped out.

   2. Informal.  to murder; kill.

      They wiped him out to keep him from testifying.

   3. Slang.  to beat decisively, as in sports.

   4. Slang.  (in sports) to be taken out of competition by a fall, accident, collision, etc.

   5. Slang.  to intoxicate or cause to become high, especially on narcotic drugs.

2. wipe up  to clean completely by wiping.

   to wipe up the mess on the floor.

wipe British  

/ waɪp /

verb

1. to rub (a surface or object) lightly, esp with (a cloth, hand, etc), as in removing dust, water, grime, etc

2. to remove by or as if by rubbing lightly

   he wiped the dirt from his hands

3. to eradicate or cancel (a thought, memory, etc)

4. to erase a recording from (an audio or video tape)

5. informal  to abandon or reject (a person)

6. to apply (oil, grease, etc) by wiping

7. to form (a joint between two lead pipes) with solder or soft lead

8. informal  to defeat someone decisively

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noun

1. the act or an instance of wiping

2. (in film editing) an effect causing the transition from one scene to the next in which the image of the first scene appears to be wiped off the screen by that of the second

3. dialect  a sweeping blow or stroke

4. dialect  a gibe or jeer

5. obsolete  a slang name for handkerchief

wipe Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing wipe

• mop up (wipe) the floor with
• settle (wipe out) an old score

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Etymology

Origin of wipe

First recorded before 1000; Middle English wipen, Old English wīpian; cognate with Old High German wīfan “to wind round,” Gothic weipan “to crown”; perhaps akin to Latin vibrāre “to move to and fro”

Example Sentences

Sometimes I just have time to wipe my armpits.

From The Wall Street Journal

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, he says, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to even more than that.

From BBC

Forget about throwing a stick; as one young woman told me while her wet-nosed darling relieved himself in the park, you must wipe a Frenchie’s butt.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, on the other hand, it does make it easier to wipe down.

From MarketWatch

"You can ask anybody you know, he's a real sweet boy, into his sports and his PlayStation and school," his father, Zahar Ibrahim, tells me before wiping a tear from his eye.

From BBC

Related Words

• clean
• dry
• dust
• erase
• mop
• obliterate
• remove
• rub
• wash