remove
Americanverb (used with object)
-
removes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
removed,
past participle, past
-
removing
present participle
-
to move from a place or position; take away or off.
to remove the napkins from the table.
- Synonyms:
- dislodge
- Antonyms:
- leave
-
to take off or shed (an article of clothing).
to remove one's jacket.
-
to move or shift to another place or position; transfer.
She removed the painting to another wall.
-
to put out; send away.
to remove a tenant.
-
to dismiss or force from a position or office; discharge.
They removed him for embezzling.
-
to take away, withdraw, or eliminate.
to remove the threat of danger.
-
to get rid of; do away with; put an end to.
to remove a stain;
to remove the source of disease.
-
to kill; assassinate.
- Synonyms:
- murder
verb (used without object)
-
removes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
removed,
past participle, past
-
removing
present participle
-
to move from one place to another, especially to another locality or residence.
We remove to Newport early in July.
- Antonyms:
- remain
-
to go away; depart; disappear.
noun
-
the act of removing.
-
a removal from one place, as of residence, to another.
-
the distance by which one person, place, or thing is separated from another.
to see something at a remove.
-
a mental distance from the reality of something as a result of psychological detachment or lack of experience.
to criticize something at a remove.
-
a degree of difference, as that due to descent, transmission, etc..
a folk survival, at many removes, of a druidic rite.
-
a step or degree, as in a graded scale.
-
British. a promotion of a pupil to a higher class or division at school.
verb
-
to take away and place elsewhere
-
to displace (someone) from office; dismiss
-
to do away with (a grievance, cause of anxiety, etc); abolish
-
to cause (dirt, stains, or anything unwanted) to disappear; get rid of
-
euphemistic to assassinate; kill
-
formal (intr) to change the location of one's home or place of business
the publishers have removed to Mayfair
noun
-
the act of removing, esp (formal) a removal of one's residence or place of work
-
the degree of difference separating one person, thing, or condition from another
only one remove from madness
-
(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
-
(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
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removabilitynoun
-
removernoun
-
preremoveverb (used with object)
-
removableadjective
-
removablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
removesimple
-
removessimple
-
have removedperfect
-
has removedperfect
-
am removingprogressive
-
are removingprogressive
-
is removingprogressive
-
have been removingperfect progressive
-
has been removingperfect progressive
Past
-
removedsimple
-
had removedperfect
-
was removingprogressive
-
were removingprogressive
-
had been removingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing remove
"Hitching a Ride"
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Workshop 3, Part 1
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Chapter 13: Manifest Destiny
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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:
“I doubt that we could remove every cultural tendency from a model, because language and culture are deeply intertwined,” Lu told me.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
The findings could have important implications for the latest generation of Alzheimer's medications, which remove amyloid using mechanisms similar to the therapy received by this patient.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
The 71-year-old leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics announced on Sunday that he would undergo an operation to remove a nodule from his lung.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
A treaty limiting future development wouldn’t remove models already in circulation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Nhamo had a sudden vision of the male baboon discovering her presence and deciding to remove the intruder.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
El Niño in the Pacific Basin decreases wind shear, so it removes the inhibitive storm-decapitating effect of wind shear at the same time that it amplifies water temperature,” Swain said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Importantly, that does not mean vitamin D2 simply removes vitamin D from the body or that taking it is necessarily harmful.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
The September employment report will give Federal Reserve officials little reason to change their underlying view of the economy, and it removes one potential obstacle to holding interest rates steady this month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
This agreement effectively removes competitors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman as participants in the next-generation program for the foreseeable future, they wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
A tall figure standing next to a bicycle steps back and removes his hat.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
"It's so much resource to try and put something forward that it ends up not being worth our time, because everything gets appealed, flagged, removed," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The moves have removed risk from the balance sheet “and transformed EchoStar into an investment company with meaningful further opportunities to unlock value,” he wrote in a note to clients on Friday while relaunching J.P.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
If you do that, you might find yourself spending weekends redoing much of the work you thought you had removed from your plate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Wells dismissed those fears on Thursday and said a previous clause in the draft legislation that would have granted ministerial powers to define harmful content had been removed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
She folded the hanky back into a neat square, returned it, then put her hat on her head, securing it with two small pins that she removed from the back of her bun.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
But Jacinto said Stelco is again idling Canadian capacity, removing Stelco supply from the U.S. and diverting production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"This case suggests that removing amyloid early may help limit the changes that ultimately damage brain cells. Ongoing trials will help determine whether starting treatment before symptoms begin can provide even greater benefit."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
Gavin Robinson said that removing Emma Little-Pengelly as deputy first minister would "punish everybody else"
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
After the encounter, Navy officials scrambled to explain to the president why the technologies were chosen and why removing them would be extremely disruptive, according to former defense officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
But Theo is already removing his hat and charging over to the woman behind the counter.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
