wipe

American  

[wahyp] / waɪp /

verb (used with object)

wiped, wiping

1. 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.

2. to rub or draw (something) over a surface, as in cleaning or drying.

3. 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.

4. to remove as if by rubbing (usually followed by away, off, etc.).

   Wipe that smile off your face!

   Synonyms:

   banish, eradicate, erase

5. to erase, as from existence or memory (often followed byfrom ).

   to wipe a thought from one's mind.

6. 1. to erase (magnetic tape, a recording, etc.)

   2. to delete the entire contents and settings of (a digital storage device, mobile device, etc.).

      She remotely wiped her computer after it was stolen.

7. Plumbing.

   1. to apply (solder in a semifluid state) by spreading with leather or cloth over the part to be soldered.

   2. to form (a joint) in this manner.

8. Machinery. (of a rotating shaft or the like) to melt the brasses of (a bearing) through friction.

9. Australian Slang. to refuse to have anything to do with; reject; dismiss.

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verb (used without object)

1. (in a video game) to suffer a defeat in which all cooperative player characters in a group are killed.

   After hours in that dungeon, our group wiped and we had to start again from the beginning.

noun

1. an act of wiping.

   He gave a few quick wipes to the furniture.

2. a rub, as of one thing over another.

3. 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.

4. a piece of absorbent material, as of paper or cloth, used for wiping.

5. a sweeping stroke or blow.

6. a gibe.

7. Machinery. wiper.

8. (in a video game) a defeat in which all cooperative player characters in a group are killed.

   a total party wipe.

9. Slang. a handkerchief.

verb phrase

1. wipe out

   1. to destroy completely; demolish.

      The entire city was wiped out.

   2. Informal. to murder; kill.

      They wiped him out to keep him from testifying.

   3. Slang. to beat decisively, as in sports.

   4. Slang. (in sports) to be taken out of competition by a fall, accident, collision, etc.

   5. Slang. to intoxicate or cause to become high, especially on narcotic drugs.

2. wipe up to clean completely by wiping.

   to wipe up the mess on the floor.

wipe British  

/ waɪp /

verb

1. to rub (a surface or object) lightly, esp with (a cloth, hand, etc), as in removing dust, water, grime, etc

2. to remove by or as if by rubbing lightly

   he wiped the dirt from his hands

3. to eradicate or cancel (a thought, memory, etc)

4. to erase a recording from (an audio or video tape)

5. informal to abandon or reject (a person)

6. to apply (oil, grease, etc) by wiping

7. to form (a joint between two lead pipes) with solder or soft lead

8. informal to defeat someone decisively

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noun

1. the act or an instance of wiping

2. (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

3. dialect a sweeping blow or stroke

4. dialect a gibe or jeer

5. obsolete a slang name for handkerchief

wipe Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing wipe

• mop up (wipe) the floor with
• settle (wipe out) an old score

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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

"I see the suffering of the people... and feel responsible for their pain," she admits, wiping a tear.

From BBC

A property crash has wiped two-fifths off the value of Chinese real estate since 2021 in some parts of the country.

From The Wall Street Journal

He had wiped the coat sleeve clean of griffin vomit and thrust the map deep into one of the pockets.

From Literature

I sit up, wiping water from my forehead.

From Literature

But critics have called this unachievable, and the author of the report his savings estimate was based on has since warned it could be wiped out by rising electricity costs.

From BBC

Related Words

• clean
• dry
• dust
• erase
• mop
• obliterate
• remove
• rub
• wash