wipe
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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to rub or draw (something) over a surface, as in cleaning or drying.
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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.
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to remove as if by rubbing (usually followed by away, off, etc.).
Wipe that smile off your face!
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to erase, as from existence or memory (often followed byfrom ).
to wipe a thought from one's mind.
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to erase (magnetic tape, a recording, etc.)
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to delete the entire contents and settings of (a digital storage device, mobile device, etc.).
She remotely wiped her computer after it was stolen.
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Plumbing.
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to apply (solder in a semifluid state) by spreading with leather or cloth over the part to be soldered.
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to form (a joint) in this manner.
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Machinery. (of a rotating shaft or the like) to melt the brasses of (a bearing) through friction.
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Australian Slang. to refuse to have anything to do with; reject; dismiss.
verb (used without object)
noun
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an act of wiping.
He gave a few quick wipes to the furniture.
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a rub, as of one thing over another.
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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.
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a piece of absorbent material, as of paper or cloth, used for wiping.
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a sweeping stroke or blow.
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a gibe.
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Machinery. wiper.
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(in a video game) a defeat in which all cooperative player characters in a group are killed.
a total party wipe.
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Slang. a handkerchief.
verb phrase
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wipe out
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to destroy completely; demolish.
The entire city was wiped out.
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Informal. to murder; kill.
They wiped him out to keep him from testifying.
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Slang. to beat decisively, as in sports.
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Slang. (in sports) to be taken out of competition by a fall, accident, collision, etc.
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Slang. to intoxicate or cause to become high, especially on narcotic drugs.
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wipe up to clean completely by wiping.
to wipe up the mess on the floor.
verb
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to rub (a surface or object) lightly, esp with (a cloth, hand, etc), as in removing dust, water, grime, etc
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to remove by or as if by rubbing lightly
he wiped the dirt from his hands
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to eradicate or cancel (a thought, memory, etc)
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to erase a recording from (an audio or video tape)
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informal to abandon or reject (a person)
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to apply (oil, grease, etc) by wiping
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to form (a joint between two lead pipes) with solder or soft lead
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informal to defeat someone decisively
noun
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the act or an instance of wiping
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(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
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dialect a sweeping blow or stroke
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dialect a gibe or jeer
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obsolete a slang name for handkerchief
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wipesimple
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wipessimple
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have wipedperfect
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has wipedperfect
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am wipingprogressive
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are wipingprogressive
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is wipingprogressive
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have been wipingperfect progressive
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has been wipingperfect progressive
Past
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wipedsimple
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had wipedperfect
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was wipingprogressive
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were wipingprogressive
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had been wipingperfect progressive
Future
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
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:
Regulators should have been careful given such products are "inherently high-risk because the compounding effect can wipe out an investor's entire principal over a short period," it said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
This can generate heavy short-term capital-gains taxes that can wipe out any extra returns.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
The rise in automation, though, has also raised concerns about whether AI will wipe out certain jobs in software engineering, customer service, entertainment and other areas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The Nobel laureate, dubbed the “godfather of AI” for his work on artificial neural networks, warns of a 10% to 20% chance AI will wipe out humans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
I use my sleeve to wipe hellhound slobber off my face.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
I always put Q-tips, cotton balls and makeup wipes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Unlike bleach and wipes, a product made of buttermilk and mayo is not exactly designed for mass consumption.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
NI water added that pollution incidents could also be caused by "inappropriate flushing" of items such as baby wipes.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The recall of the wipes — Target brand Up & Up Fragrance Free and Cucumber Scented Baby Wipes — came after Target and the manufacturer, Sapro Temizlik Urunleri, received numerous customer complaints of “product discoloration.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
He wipes away the tears from his eyes, and I wipe mine too, though a part of me is happy hearing Father’s compliment.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Hundreds of small businesses saw their inventories wiped out in the strike, triggering angry comments on social media.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
His people are ancient and few, a clan whose kinship with nature left them vulnerable to warring nobles who all but wiped them out.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
While many people think that the city’s population was wiped out, the vast majority actually escaped and modern research has found the names and details of hundreds of survivors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The asteroid strike that created it is widely associated with the extinction event that wiped out all nonavian dinosaurs and many other species.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
“The first aid kit is in the car,” Mrs. Palmer said, as she wiped the perspiration off her face.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
She noted inflation “is wiping out wage gains for many. Grocery prices also continue to rise. But the picture did look slightly better in June than in April or May.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
“The exciting part is that this generation is not about wiping the slate clean, but about beginning a new slate,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
"No matter how much we wiped her body down, her fever didn't come down. The doctors just kept coming and saying, 'keep wiping her body,'" Akhter says.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
The digital coin crashed hours later, wiping out millions of dollars in investors’ funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
“The Hawk,” she said, grabbing a towel and wiping herself off, “strikes again.”
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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.
