eliminate

American  

[ih-lim-uh-neyt] / ɪˈlɪm əˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

eliminated, eliminating

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.

---

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

---

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; 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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he and Trump had agreed that "any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely".

From Barron's • May 24, 2026

Because of this complexity, anti-aging researchers are increasingly moving away from strategies that attempt to eliminate all senescent cells.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2026

Thursday’s flurry of budget votes offered a sharp contrast to last year’s deliberations, when council members scrambled to eliminate a $1-billion shortfall while minimizing cuts to the city workforce.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

It also said it hopes the U.S. will further eliminate unilateral tariffs on China in future trade talks.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

Unlike other forms of Internet overinvestment, it was permanent: Once the fiber cables were laid, no one was going to dig them up and thereby eliminate the overcapacity.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

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