eliminate

verb

elim·​i·​nate i-ˈli-mə-ˌnāt 

eliminated; eliminating

transitive verb

1

a

: to put an end to or get rid of : remove

eliminate errors

b

: to remove from consideration

eliminate someone as a suspect

c

: to remove from further competition by defeating

the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs

2

: to expel (waste) from the living body

3

mathematics : to cause to disappear by combining two or more equations

eliminate an unknown quantity

intransitive verb

: to expel waste from the living body

eliminative

i-ˈli-mə-ˌnā-tiv 

adjective

eliminator

i-ˈli-mə-ˌnā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• ban
• bar
• close out
• count (out)
• debar
• except
• exclude
• freeze out
• rule out
• shut out

Examples of eliminate in a Sentence

Doctors seek to eliminate the causes of the epidemic.

The body naturally eliminates waste products.

The company plans to eliminate more than 2,000 jobs in the coming year.

She's trying to eliminate fatty foods from her diet.

Recent Examples on the Web

The need to context shift and move information from system to system is eliminated by situating Brisk in the browser as a Chrome extension. —Ray Ravaglia, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024

The Act reversed the policy of the 1887 Dawes Allotment Act, which had been eliminating tribal reservations by allowing non-Natives to acquire land on reservations. —Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2024

Instances where Japanese acts come under fire for creating music videos using historical figures that instigated invasions and massacres are precisely the result of having eliminated social perspectives from music. —Billboard Japan, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2024

The tragedy came just weeks after Gold and her high school dance team competed on the NBC talent show and received a standing ovation in the quarterfinals round, before getting eliminated in August. —Joelle Goldstein, Peoplemag, 17 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin eliminatus, past participle of eliminare, from e- + limin-, limen threshold

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Kids Definition

eliminate

verb

elim·​i·​nate i-ˈlim-ə-ˌnāt 

eliminated; eliminating

1

a

: to get rid of : remove

b

: to remove from further competition by defeating

2

: to expel from the living body

eliminative

-ˌnāt-iv 

adjective

eliminator

-ˌnāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

eliminate

transitive verb

elim·​i·​nate -ˌnāt 

eliminated; eliminating

: to expel (as waste) from the living body