eliminate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
-
to omit, especially as being unimportant or irrelevant; leave out.
I have eliminated all statistical tables, which are of interest only to the specialist.
- Antonyms:
- incorporate, admit, accept, include
-
to remove from further consideration or competition, especially by defeating in a contest.
-
to eradicate or kill.
to eliminate the enemy.
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Physiology. to void or expel from an organism.
-
Mathematics. to remove (a quantity) from an equation by elimination.
verb
-
to remove or take out; get rid of
-
to reject as trivial or irrelevant; omit from consideration
-
to remove (a competitor, team, etc) from a contest, usually by defeat
-
slang to murder in a cold-blooded manner
-
physiol to expel (waste matter) from the body
-
maths to remove (an unknown variable) from two or more simultaneous equations
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
- eliminability noun
- eliminable adjective
- eliminant noun
- eliminative adjective
- eliminator noun
- noneliminative adjective
- preeliminate verb (used with object)
- uneliminated adjective
- well-eliminated adjective
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; e- 1, -ate 1
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.
Over time they can enter a dysfunctional condition called T cell exhaustion, where their ability to eliminate threats declines.
From Science Daily
The UK's recent trade deals with New Zealand and Australia, struck since Brexit, eliminate tariffs and give producers in both countries large quotas on the amount of lamb they can export into Britain.
From BBC
Just weeks after major storms brought snow to the Sierra Nevada, a winter heat wave has all but eliminated California’s snowpack gains.
From Los Angeles Times
Press reports say the drone in Kuwait attacked U.S. troops at a civilian port, which underscores how hard it is to protect every outpost from aerial weapons that are difficult to spot and eliminate.
Today, the U.S. uses a floating rate system where the exchange adjusts automatically, all but eliminating the risk of a balance-of-payments problem.
From Barron's
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.
