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
-
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
-
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:
The noise of backhoes, cranes and bulldozers echoed across Colombia's quake-hit cities on Sunday as workers labored to remove rubble, though the chance of finding survivors was slim a week after the disaster.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Prepare the peaches: Peel the peaches, if desired, then remove the pits and roughly chop the fruit.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Home inspectors don’t open up walls and remove flooring to check for hidden defects in a home, he noted.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
It said in a further statement that Israeli civilians had erected a tent in the Qusra area earlier on Friday, "and IDF soldiers operated to remove it while protecting the local residents".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Camille talks like she’s done with Mom forever, like Mom is some random stranger she can easily remove from her life.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
In a statement, Amazon said the retailer has a verification process for authorized sellers and removes listings that infringe trademarks and copyrights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
After collecting the cells, the team removes the material from the brushes and uses forensic-level, next-generation sequencing technologies to isolate and amplify genetic sequences.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
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
She added that the scheme only removes one chick at a time from nests, and the birds are checked for bird flu before they are released.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
She opens up a carton of orange juice, pours it into a paper cup, and hands it to me as she removes the thermometer.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Nor did the administration offer any indication of how the tariffs were calculated and when, if ever, they would be removed.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Some who had signed a public letter of support quietly removed their names.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
According to an online tracker provided by the company, about 94% of the food has been removed as of Friday morning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The flames have got close to the site, which holds the remains of the first kings of the medieval kingdom of Aragon, but these as well as other artefacts have been removed as a precaution.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
And he knew, as she removed the chain and handed the ring to a bewildered Hila, that he had his answer.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
By keeping the action and themes largely Earthbound and removing the interstellar glamour associated with flying supes and suits, “Lanterns” reignites our consideration of a superhero long written off in the live-action realm.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Shelter said it wanted him to use October's Budget to "kickstart the council house revolution he promised" by removing financial barriers that prevent councils from building more social rent homes.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Mr. Johnson adjusts the denominator by removing the third-trimester women.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 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
“You hush,” she says, removing her seat belt and rotating her seat all the way around so it’s facing the live-in part of the RV.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
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.
