remote
Americanadjective
-
far apart; far distant in space; situated at some distance away.
the remote jungles of Brazil.
-
out-of-the-way; secluded.
a remote village;
a remote mountaintop.
-
(of an electronic device or technical process) operating or controlled from a distance, as by remote control.
a remote camera.
-
not direct, primary, or proximate; not directly involved or influential.
the remote causes of the war.
-
slight or faint; unlikely.
The committee doesn't have the remotest idea of how to address the basic issue.
So with two games remaining, we actually have a remote chance of making the play-offs.
- Synonyms:
- doubtful
-
noting or relating to work, schooling, or other activities that take place away from their usual place, site, or building: Teachers have distance learning lessons prepared in advance for weather emergencies that necessitate remote instruction.
The company allows remote work for freelancers, but full-time employees are expected to work on site.
Teachers have distance learning lessons prepared in advance for weather emergencies that necessitate remote instruction.
-
reserved and distant in manner; not warmly cordial; aloof.
-
far off; abstracted; removed.
principles remote from actions.
-
distant in time.
remote antiquity.
-
distant in relationship or connection.
a remote ancestor.
noun
-
remotes
plural
-
Radio and Television. a broadcast, usually live, from a location outside a studio.
adjective
-
located far away; distant
-
far from any centre of population, society, or civilization; out-of-the-way
-
distant in time
-
distantly related or connected
a remote cousin
-
removed, as from the source or point of action
-
slight or faint (esp in the phrases not the remotest idea, a remote chance )
-
(of a person's manner) aloof or abstracted
-
operated from a distance; remote-controlled
a remote monitor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of remote
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin remōtus, past participle of removēre “to move back”; see remove, motion
Explanation
Remote describes something far, far away, like a campsite way out in the woods, a distant planet, or the chance you'll win the lottery. The Australian outback is remote, since it's hard to get to and there aren't many people there. It's also remote in the sense that it's far away from civilization. Someone with a faraway look in her eye, not answering your questions is also remote. Remote can describe something unlikely, like that lottery win. You might win, but your chances are so remote you shouldn't count on it.
Vocabulary lists containing remote
"Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Born in New York in 1937, Rockefeller first arrived in West Virginia in 1964 as an anti-poverty volunteer, working in a remote Appalachian mining community.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Click your remote control and you have an 11-foot-wide image on a white wall — a sort of private screening room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
The radar station closed in 2006 but it was revived in 2018 for Arctic surveillance as an automated remote radar head.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
More broadly, annual revenue for the company has risen since 2017, according to FactSet data, alongside the rise of cloud services, mobile usage, remote work, artificial intelligence and AI agents.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Because when a bunch of geniuses are stuck together on a remote mountaintop for a few years, they’re going to toss around ideas.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
At this point, the most responsible thing Attorney General Pam Bondi could do is confiscate the department’s television remotes and log everyone out of their social media accounts.
From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2026
I also had wide and mid-range angled cameras, both mounted on a tripod to be trigged by remotes.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 14, 2024
Like his night stand, which is buried under books, charging cables and remotes to TVs she is fairly certain they no longer own.
From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2024
This energy density cannot be achieved in the lithium-ion batteries powering most of today's battery-operated devices -- including phones, television remotes, and even electric vehicles.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 26, 2024
Since then, however, the adaptation has been passed down: we’ve all inherited it to some degree, so that we plug right into joysticks and remotes, to repetitive motions of a hundred kinds.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
It is, rather, “a series of fan’s notes, material brought back from some of the remoter caverns of Tolkien’s imagination, into which . . . critics and biographers have rarely strayed.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
“It makes me think that it’s certainly biologically possible to have grizzly bears in those remoter corners of California,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025
Army units deployed Monday along a paved road leading from Amizmiz to remoter mountain villages.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 11, 2023
This has left digital asset companies with little choice but to seek out smaller financial institutions, some in remoter corners of global finance.
From Reuters ● Apr. 19, 2023
When they were near the knights, they walked slowly, but in the remoter distance they were running.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Triflingly, a San Francisco minister took Pacheco to task because his gubernatorial declaration of the date for Thanksgiving “had not the remotest acknowledgement of Almighty God.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
A Dutch student team Tuesday unveiled what they believe to be the world's first solar-powered ambulance, which they hope can bring much-needed medical care to the remotest parts of the globe.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
She was drawn there by a desire for change and the attractive salaries Alaska offers attorneys who staff its remotest locations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
From Argentina it was onto the British territory of South Georgia, a world-renowned wildlife destination famous for its penguin colonies, and then Tristan da Cunha, the remotest inhabited island in the world.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
It is the remotest section of the entire AT.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
