wipe
Americanverb (used with object)
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wipes,
present (3rd person singular)
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wiped,
past participle, past
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wiping
present participle
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to rub lightly with or on a cloth, towel, paper, the hand, etc., in order to clean or dry the surface of.
He wiped the furniture with a damp cloth.
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to rub or draw (something) over a surface, as in cleaning or drying.
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to remove by rubbing with or on something (usually followed by away, off, out, etc.).
Wipe the dirt off your shoes. Wipe the dust from the pictures.
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to remove as if by rubbing (usually followed by away, off, etc.).
Wipe that smile off your face!
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to erase, as from existence or memory (often followed byfrom ).
to wipe a thought from one's mind.
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to erase (magnetic tape, a recording, etc.)
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to delete the entire contents and settings of (a digital storage device, mobile device, etc.).
She remotely wiped her computer after it was stolen.
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Plumbing.
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to apply (solder in a semifluid state) by spreading with leather or cloth over the part to be soldered.
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to form (a joint) in this manner.
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Machinery. (of a rotating shaft or the like) to melt the brasses of (a bearing) through friction.
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Australian Slang. to refuse to have anything to do with; reject; dismiss.
verb (used without object)
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wipes,
present (3rd person singular)
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wiped,
past participle, past
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wiping
present participle
noun
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wipes
plural
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an act of wiping.
He gave a few quick wipes to the furniture.
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a rub, as of one thing over another.
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Also called wipe-off. Movies. a technique in film editing by which the projected image of a scene appears to be pushed or wiped off the screen by the image that follows.
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a piece of absorbent material, as of paper or cloth, used for wiping.
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a sweeping stroke or blow.
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a gibe.
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Machinery. wiper.
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(in a video game) a defeat in which all cooperative player characters in a group are killed.
a total party wipe.
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Slang. a handkerchief.
verb phrase
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wipe out
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to destroy completely; demolish.
The entire city was wiped out.
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Informal. to murder; kill.
They wiped him out to keep him from testifying.
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Slang. to beat decisively, as in sports.
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Slang. (in sports) to be taken out of competition by a fall, accident, collision, etc.
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Slang. to intoxicate or cause to become high, especially on narcotic drugs.
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wipe up to clean completely by wiping.
to wipe up the mess on the floor.
verb
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to rub (a surface or object) lightly, esp with (a cloth, hand, etc), as in removing dust, water, grime, etc
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to remove by or as if by rubbing lightly
he wiped the dirt from his hands
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to eradicate or cancel (a thought, memory, etc)
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to erase a recording from (an audio or video tape)
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informal to abandon or reject (a person)
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to apply (oil, grease, etc) by wiping
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to form (a joint between two lead pipes) with solder or soft lead
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informal to defeat someone decisively
noun
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the act or an instance of wiping
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(in film editing) an effect causing the transition from one scene to the next in which the image of the first scene appears to be wiped off the screen by that of the second
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dialect a sweeping blow or stroke
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dialect a gibe or jeer
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obsolete a slang name for handkerchief
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wipesimple
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wipessimple
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have wipedperfect
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has wipedperfect
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am wipingprogressive
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are wipingprogressive
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is wipingprogressive
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have been wipingperfect progressive
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has been wipingperfect progressive
Past
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wipedsimple
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had wipedperfect
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was wipingprogressive
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were wipingprogressive
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had been wipingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wipe
First recorded before 1000; Middle English wipen, Old English wīpian; cognate with Old High German wīfan “to wind round,” Gothic weipan “to crown”; perhaps akin to Latin vibrāre “to move to and fro”
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:
To wipe away the negative behaviors, prices would need to make a fresh high above $116.72.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
Teams had to wipe down the balls after using them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The warnings came after Vice Premier He Lifeng polled China’s biggest employers last year, and some estimated AI could wipe out 30% or more of their existing roles, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
"That was the only time in my career when I had to stop recording to wipe away my tears," Dame Esther also said.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
I wipe the start of a tear from the corner of my eye.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
To examine what happens under realistic conditions, the researchers tested scented conventional liquid products as well as botanical-containing disinfectant sprays and wipes inside a model home on Purdue's campus.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
“If a quarterback licks his hands before he throws, or wipes his towel before he hands off—these were all things we were analyzing,” Woodin said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Then came paper towels, Method cleaner, dish soap, lime sparkling water and grapefruit-scented antibacterial wipes.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
NI water added that pollution incidents could also be caused by "inappropriate flushing" of items such as baby wipes.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
He wipes his nose, spits, and gets back to the task at hand.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Why did crocodiles survive the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago?
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
As for the economy, the AI bust wiped out 500,000 lost jobs in nonresidential construction owing to the bust of AI infrastructure, and Asian supply chains were it hard.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
As thrilled as Miller and Ruffin are about moving back, they’re wiped out physically and emotionally.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
Swiatek has often been overcome by emotion during matches, most recently when she wiped away tears during her defeat by childhood friend Chwalinska.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
The wolf did not care for the cucumbers, but she did enjoy the bits of cheddar cheese Penelope offered, once the mustard had been carefully wiped off, of course.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
I was an undergraduate in an introductory computer-science course 30 years ago when I wrote software that ended up going “rogue” and wiping all the data from a server.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
The robot in the living room slowly shifted a stack of books to the side as it began wiping down the coffee table.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
His monthly fuel costs jumped to $450,000, wiping out all profits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
But drought, pesticides and habitat destruction triggered an unprecedented collapse that began in 2017, eventually wiping out an estimated 99.5 percent of the Bogong moth population.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Sniffling and wiping at her nose, the girl looked Aunt Kitty over from head to toe and back up again, then sized me up beside her.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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