eliminate

American  

[ih-lim-uh-neyt] / ɪˈlɪm əˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

• eliminates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• eliminated,
  past participle,  past
• eliminating
  present participle

1. to remove or get rid of, especially as being in some way undesirable.

   to eliminate risks; to eliminate hunger.

   Synonyms:

   annihilate, exterminate, erase, eradicate, abolish, banish

   Antonyms:

   invite, get, obtain

2. to omit, especially as being unimportant or irrelevant; leave out.

   I have eliminated all statistical tables, which are of interest only to the specialist.

   Synonyms:

   exclude, except, delete, drop

   Antonyms:

   incorporate, admit, accept, include

3. to remove from further consideration or competition, especially by defeating in a contest.

4. to eradicate or kill.

   to eliminate the enemy.

5. Physiology. to void or expel from an organism.

6. Mathematics. to remove (a quantity) from an equation by elimination.

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eliminate British  

/ ɪˈlɪmɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. to remove or take out; get rid of

2. to reject as trivial or irrelevant; omit from consideration

3. to remove (a competitor, team, etc) from a contest, usually by defeat

4. slang to murder in a cold-blooded manner

5. physiol to expel (waste matter) from the body

6. maths to remove (an unknown variable) from two or more simultaneous equations

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Usage

Eliminate is sometimes wrongly used to talk about avoiding the repetition of something undesirable: we must prevent (not eliminate ) further mistakes of this kind

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• eliminability
  noun
• eliminant
  noun
• eliminator
  noun
• preeliminate
  verb (used with object)
• eliminable
  adjective
• eliminative
  adjective
• noneliminative
  adjective
• uneliminated
  adjective
• well-eliminated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• eliminating
  present
• eliminated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• eliminate
  simple
• eliminates
  simple
• have eliminated
  perfect
• has eliminated
  perfect
• am eliminating
  progressive
• are eliminating
  progressive
• is eliminating
  progressive
• have been eliminating
  perfect progressive
• has been eliminating
  perfect progressive

Past

• eliminated
  simple
• had eliminated
  perfect
• was eliminating
  progressive
• were eliminating
  progressive
• had been eliminating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will eliminate
  simple
• will have eliminated
  perfect
• will be eliminating
  progressive
• will have been eliminating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of eliminate

First recorded in 1560–70 and in 1915–20 eliminate for def. 4; from Latin ēlīminātus “turned out of doors” (past participle of ēlīmināre ), equivalent to ē- “from, out of” + līmin-, stem of līmen “threshold” + -ātus adjective suffix; see e- ¹, -ate ¹

Explanation

As eliminate means "get rid of or do away with," it has become used to refer to the end of a problem or even an entire species. We need to eliminate sources of pollution in order to maintain a healthy world. The original literal meaning of eliminate was "to thrust over the threshold and out of doors, to kick out," but the 18th century saw the word expand to mean "to exclude," and later to ridding the body of waste. The verb then came to refer to getting rid of anything, such as a problem or foul odor. The word took an ominous turn in the 20th century, when we saw man-made pollution eliminate whole species, and war, hate, and famine nearly eliminate whole groups of people.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eliminate eliminates eliminated eliminating

In the last few years, city and state leaders have launched a $3 billion plan to eliminate vacancy, offering subsidies for nonprofit developers and home buyers and repair grants for homeowners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

“Ultimately, it is obvious that this motion falls into the category of a ‘Hail Mary’ attempt to eliminate a strong witness for the plaintiffs,” Gonzalez Rogers wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

"I do not understand why anyone who believes that AI will eliminate most jobs and much of humanity's relevance would rush to build that future."

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

If lawmakers were to eliminate the cap, they’d have to decide how to treat Social Security benefits.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

“You may think you can eliminate it,” Adams warned, but “Aristocracy like Waterfowl dives for Ages and rises again with brighter Plumage.”

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Disney’s current proposal also eliminates Easter as a paid holiday, the union said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

The Schengen agreement eliminates border checks and now encompasses more than 450 million people and 29 countries in Europe.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

By stacking custom memory on top of the computing layer like Lego bricks, it eliminates data traffic jams—delivering memory bandwidth without foreign-made HBM.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Slaughter disrupts this design and largely eliminates its incentives for bipartisanship.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

Pushing the not next to the phrase it negates eliminates the scope ambiguity.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Brave are playing for pride, having already been eliminated and victory would guarantee they avoid the wooden spoon.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

"Now... If you don't get serious, you will be eliminated by the market."

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

Another risk is that dividends can be cut or eliminated altogether.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

And some features that had previously been eliminated needed to be returned to the home, including original roofing, porches and even light switches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

However, if you fail, you will be eliminated from the competition.”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

For example, eliminating the tax cap could increase marginal tax rates on labor income in high-tax states, including New York, California and Oregon, which could discourage workers from earning more.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

A rule might involve reversing the digits or eliminating numbers above a certain value.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

The Rumbler then plays a prerecorded message, such as “Move to the right,” in English and Spanish, eliminating the need for the officer to do so, according to Chow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

For others it is eliminating their food or their homes.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

In theory, peremptory strikes may increase the fairness of the proceeding by eliminating jurors who may be biased but whose biases cannot be demonstrated convincingly to a judge.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• cancel
• defeat
• dispose of
• disqualify
• eradicate
• erase
• exclude
• get rid of
• ignore
• knock out
• oust
• phase out
• stamp out
• waive
• wipe out