remove

American  

[ri-moov] / rɪˈmuv /

verb (used with object)

• removes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• removed,
  past participle,  past
• removing
  present participle

1. to move from a place or position; take away or off.

   to remove the napkins from the table.

   Synonyms:

   dislodge

   Antonyms:

   leave

2. to take off or shed (an article of clothing).

   to remove one's jacket.

3. to move or shift to another place or position; transfer.

   She removed the painting to another wall.

   Synonyms:

   transport, displace

4. to put out; send away.

   to remove a tenant.

5. to dismiss or force from a position or office; discharge.

   They removed him for embezzling.

6. to take away, withdraw, or eliminate.

   to remove the threat of danger.

7. to get rid of; do away with; put an end to.

   to remove a stain;

   to remove the source of disease.

8. to kill; assassinate.

   Synonyms:

   murder

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verb (used without object)

• removes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• removed,
  past participle,  past
• removing
  present participle

1. to move from one place to another, especially to another locality or residence.

   We remove to Newport early in July.

   Antonyms:

   remain

2. to go away; depart; disappear.

noun

1. the act of removing.

2. a removal from one place, as of residence, to another.

3. the distance by which one person, place, or thing is separated from another.

   to see something at a remove.

4. a mental distance from the reality of something as a result of psychological detachment or lack of experience.

   to criticize something at a remove.

5. a degree of difference, as that due to descent, transmission, etc..

   a folk survival, at many removes, of a druidic rite.

6. a step or degree, as in a graded scale.

7. British. a promotion of a pupil to a higher class or division at school.

remove British  

/ rɪˈmuːv /

verb

1. to take away and place elsewhere

2. to displace (someone) from office; dismiss

3. to do away with (a grievance, cause of anxiety, etc); abolish

4. to cause (dirt, stains, or anything unwanted) to disappear; get rid of

5. euphemistic to assassinate; kill

6. formal (intr) to change the location of one's home or place of business

   the publishers have removed to Mayfair

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noun

1. the act of removing, esp (formal) a removal of one's residence or place of work

2. the degree of difference separating one person, thing, or condition from another

   only one remove from madness

3. (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

4. (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

• removability
  noun
• remover
  noun
• preremove
  verb (used with object)
• removable
  adjective
• removably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• removing
  present
• removed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• remove
  simple
• removes
  simple
• have removed
  perfect
• has removed
  perfect
• am removing
  progressive
• are removing
  progressive
• is removing
  progressive
• have been removing
  perfect progressive
• has been removing
  perfect progressive

Past

• removed
  simple
• had removed
  perfect
• was removing
  progressive
• were removing
  progressive
• had been removing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will remove
  simple
• will have removed
  perfect
• will be removing
  progressive
• will have been removing
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

remove removes removed removing

As the 65-year-old was using a pickax to remove what he thought was a rectangular piece of concrete, the object moved.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Despite her influence, there are scant details about Clark online—and efforts have been made to remove references to her, according to a Journal analysis and a person familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Since then, the number of annual encampment fires and the number of unhoused people have dropped considerably as the city has made dedicated efforts to remove encampments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

"For me, the most important thing last season was to be fit, just to remove this from my head - the injuries and other things," he explained.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Well, I hurried down the lane, not even bothering to remove my apron.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Before surgery, Amabile shared that he would undergo a craniotomy, a surgery in which a neurosurgeon temporarily removes a piece of the skull to reach the brain and remove the tumor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

In a statement, Amazon said the retailer has a verification process for authorized sellers and removes listings that infringe trademarks and copyrights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The goal was to determine how much carbon dioxide the forest removes from the atmosphere and stores in its wood.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

For customers, outcome-based pricing removes the predictability of monthly IT budgets.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

He removes a piece of paper and places it squarely on the desk.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Shorter said the Destination Crenshaw team tore up the streets in front of his church in 2023, which removed parking for his parishioners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

It emerged that a total of 21 animals had been removed during the grace period, but 51 remained on the farm.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

In mid-June, the center's Executive Director Matt Floca said it had "removed all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds" containing Trump's name.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

The researchers compared wild-type mice with mice in which OPA1 had been specifically removed from MC4R neurons.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

But at two weeks this one had yet to discover how unwelcoming was its world: we would need a place for them far removed from other houses.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

By keeping the action and themes largely Earthbound and removing the interstellar glamour associated with flying supes and suits, “Lanterns” reignites our consideration of a superhero long written off in the live-action realm.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

And she said officials were "always prepared" that the farmer would be disqualified and they "knew" removing the animals would present "significant issues".

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

“I recognize that Lineage has made significant progress and may be within days of removing the remaining food,” Jurado said in the statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Perez said a local resident heard cries for help beneath the rubble and joined neighbors in removing debris before professional rescuers arrived.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

“Very good. Yes. Very good, indeed. Would you mind removing the jacket? I’d love to try it on.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Related Words

• abolish
• clear away
• cut out
• delete
• discard
• discharge
• dismiss
• eliminate
• erase
• evacuate
• expel
• extract
• get rid of
• oust
• pull out
• raise
• separate
• ship
• take out
• transfer