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

---

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

In an apology, first issued on Friday, Converse said the photo had been removed from its social media channels and it was working to remove it elsewhere.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

The agency encourages property owners to remove certain trees around homes for defensible-space purposes and works to thin forests throughout the Tahoe Basin to reduce wildfire risk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

But then they remembered something the local council had told them: a museum had previously asked landowners in the area for permission to remove the tree.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

That helps remove concentration risk in AI stocks, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

“Yes, ma’am,” I said back while I wiped my face with the back of my hand to remove some of Rufus’s slimy mouth juice and gave him a none-too-pleased glare.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

A major challenge, however, is proving that any proposed technology actually removes methane.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

It stresses that juggling a governorship and a national campaign is nearly impossible, and suggests that while leaving Sacramento removes that conflict, it does not resolve doubts about whether voters will ultimately embrace him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

A litter picking group which removes rubbish from a river collected more than 50 bags of rubbish at their latest gathering.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

That addendum removes a requirement that the unit be owner-occupied and allows the lender to collect rent directly from tenants if Paxton were to default on the loan.

From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026

As the crowd regains its composure, he lifts a gloved hand and removes his hat.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

The BBC has removed nearly a dozen comedy sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look after deciding they no longer "work today".

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Residents have to leave, food must be protected or removed, and the treatment does not leave behind lasting protection against termites that arrive later.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

OpenAI removed the data sets from its library.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Brian Ortega was scheduled to fight on home turf, but due to an injury, his lightweight bout against Renato Moicano was removed from the card.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Someone has removed the Cohan song and started playing dance music instead.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

In previous strikes, a "no-detriment" policy was applied to prevent students being penalised and removing untaught topics from assessments.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Then after they finished removing the debris, the residents wanted it to be in the Palisades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

OpenAI staffers discussed removing references to LibGen from papers that could later be public, according to the filing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Genetically removing the enzyme that produces D-serine prevented or reduced several later cognitive problems.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

There were no computers in my high school, and the first two times I attempted college, people were still counting on their fingers and removing their shoes when the numbers got above ten.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

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