eliminate

American  

[ih-lim-uh-nayt] / 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.

---

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

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

And, last week, President Trump signed an executive order to eliminate invasive ticks and mosquitoes across D.C.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

At the same time, bacteria are not simply enemies to eliminate.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Mexico and Argentina committed on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting last week to work to eliminate forced labor from global supply chains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Speaking to AFP, Ignat explained that the new turrets, which have been seen by AFP journalists in the Ukrainian capital, use "optical vision and artificial intelligence to eliminate the human factor and deliver strikes".

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Here is a system designed to eliminate pleasure for everyone involved.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Such stores source their supplies directly from domestic producers, a set-up that, for now, eliminates any risk of food shortages, he added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

One of the main ways the body eliminates unwanted cells is through apoptosis, a carefully controlled form of cellular "suicide."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

A sausage-and-pepper meal starter eliminates most of the chopping; canned tomatoes provide the sauce’s backbone; and a few spoonfuls of prepared sun-dried tomato pesto pull everything into focus.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

However, there is less robust evidence on the effectiveness of delaying school , externalentry and whether it eliminates the summer-born disadvantage, with policymakers still relying heavily on parental testimony.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Turns out being on the surface of Mars for a few million years eliminates all the water in the soil.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Rations were further curtailed in 2008, when reformist ex-president Raul Castro eliminated what he called "undue subsidies and freebies" such as cigars, toothpaste and oil.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The treatment also eliminated cancer from both the bone marrow and spleen.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Danni was eliminated from the Channel 4 TV series during biscuit week after being told by judge Paul Hollywood their cookies were "powdery".

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

To close a deficit of more than $200 million that it announced last year, USC froze hiring, laid off roughly 1,000 workers, eliminated merit raises, sold unused buildings and cut discretionary spending.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The Test was fairly simple: they were each given a sparring partner, and if they won their duel, they needn’t worry about being eliminated.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

It is also making it clear to employees that eliminating bumping is now a requirement, not a goal, according to a memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

At the same time, TCIP3 was also eliminating germinal centers -- clusters of rapidly dividing immune cells that depend heavily on BCL6 and represent the same type of cells that become abnormal in lymphoma.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

The Pentagon this year condensed more than 200 religious affiliation codes to 31, initially eliminating specific classifications for atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans, among others.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

In July, OnPoint Logistics LLC filed a notice to close its San Francisco operation effective Sept. 7, eliminating 96 roles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

In theory, peremptory strikes may increase the fairness of the proceeding by eliminating jurors who may be biased but whose biases cannot be demonstrated convincingly to a judge.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

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