remove
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
-
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
-
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:
Last month, Bass issued orders mandating Lineage remove all food waste within 45 days and mobilizing resources to assist the community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
The government said its new bursary would remove a barrier to young people taking on apprenticeships, allowing them to "earn and learn".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
In the main square, Lebanese soldiers used heavy machinery to remove rubble as drones buzzed overhead.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Once the charcoal had been confirmed, researchers received exceptional authorization to remove extremely small samples for carbon-14 dating.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Our goal,” he says, “is to remove Investigator from the margins of history.”
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
The analyst could turn more bullish if petrochemical spreads improve structurally following global capacity rationalization or if the disposal of unit Pengerang Petrochemical Company removes an earnings drag.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Experts I talked to explained that such decline is the economic result of consolidation, which reduces competition and therefore removes incentives for movie studios to take creative risks.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Then, the hosts explain how a new law–which removes an existing requirement for mobile-home construction–might help the affordable-housing crisis.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026
AI's ability to conjure up speedy responses to all kinds of questions "removes learning opportunities" from users, said Carnegie Mellon University doctoral student Grace Liu, the article's main author.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
My eyes flood with tears as Dr. Wells removes the bandages and inspects his handiwork.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
“The people being removed are disproportionately working-age, employed and without criminal records — the demographic core of the workforce in construction, hospitality, agriculture, food processing, and care work,” the report read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Demetriou said while two videos were later removed, six of 21 posts reported in February were still live in late July.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Then came the June reconstitution of the Russell 1000 Value Index, which removed many chip names shortly before chip stocks lost their momentum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
When researchers genetically removed p58IPK from two different cell lines, misfolded proinsulin accumulated at higher levels.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
In hospitals in which the reimbursement rates for appendectomies ran higher, for instance, the surgeons removed more appendixes.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Scientists must collect enough carbon to obtain a reliable measurement while removing as little as possible from the ancient image.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
There have been calls for all AI-generated content to be clearly stamped but other users can then just re-edit the material removing the markings.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Von Hagens, an anatomist, lecturer and entrepreneur nicknamed "Dr Death," in the 1970s invented the plastination process, which involves removing water and fat from human and animal tissue and replacing them with chemical compounds.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The fire also left the company with the monumental task of removing approximately 85 million pounds of food, including meat, that had been kept inside the cold-storage warehouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
“I do apologize,” I say, removing my backside from the squash of her box.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
