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

T-cells that eliminate remaining or new cancer cells to prevent recurrence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

While Informed Sport is a very well used system among athletes, Wada makes it clear that quality assurance schemes can reduce but do not eliminate the risk of an anti-doping infringement.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

They also used genetic techniques that allowed them to selectively eliminate or silence AgRP hunger neurons.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

But it can also eliminate the sale altogether.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

While some physicists are trying to eliminate zero from their equations, others are showing that zero may have the last laugh.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

The company ranks suppliers by their flexibility and ability to deliver urgent orders, and regularly eliminates the poorest performers, according to a 2021 Zhongtai Securities report.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

In a notice in the Federal Register published Friday, BIS said the rule eliminates wind gust tolerance as a control parameter and removes national security licensing requirements for drones with capabilities lasting under three hours.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Some criticism of the situation has involved concerns over the Schengen Area - an agreement which eliminates border checks and now encompasses more than 450 million people and 29 countries in Europe.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Although sodium-ion batteries cost more than lithium ones, Mossburg said their battery systems still save customers money: The technology does not heat up like lithium, so it eliminates the need for expensive cooling technology.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

"But he invented a product that eliminates foot odor. Here, I've got a sample in my briefcase. I wish I had more. You two could bathe in it."

From "Holes" by Louis Sachar

As he guides them, Chen declares: "If you are not needed by the world of AI and robotics, then you'll definitely be among those eliminated".

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Their results showed that nanoscale particles once viewed as imperfections to be eliminated could instead provide useful sites for droplet formation.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Albon and Palmer point out that child-labor laws have scarcely eliminated the pressures on poor families.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

“We did such a great job — we eliminated measles by the year 2000, and now we’re going backward.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

This eliminated the need for me to shave or cut my hair, both hassles I didn’t need.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

"Despite tip-fatigue, I do not think tipping is going to be eliminated on widescale anytime soon because the economic disadvantages of eliminating tipping outweigh the advantages," says Lynn.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

The reductions don’t involve cafe closures and support Niccol’s goal of eliminating $2 billion in costs by the end of its 2028 fiscal year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

There are many factors that go into determining how much of an impact eliminating the tax cap would have on the Social Security’s bottom line.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

But it has been recommended in the U.S. since 2006, eliminating as many as 70,000 hospitalizations every year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

The newspapers had pointed out that the fourolds were also reflected in clothing, and now high school students had taken responsibility for eliminating such dress.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

Related Words

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