Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense eliminates, present participle eliminating, past tense, past participle eliminated
1. verb
To eliminate something, especially something you do not want or need, means to remove it completely.
[formal]
The priority should be to eliminate child poverty. [VERB noun]
Academic departments are being eliminated. [VERB noun]
If you think you may be allergic to a food or drink, eliminate it from your diet. [VERB noun + from]
elimination (ɪlɪmɪneɪʃən)uncountable noun
...the prohibition and elimination of chemical weapons. [+ of]
Synonyms: removal, end, withdrawal, taking away More Synonyms of eliminate
2. passive verb
When a person or team is eliminatedfrom a competition, they are defeated and so take no further part in the competition.
I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals. [beVERB-ed + from]
If you are eliminated in the show-jumping then you are out of the complete competition. [beVERB-ed]
Synonyms: knock out, drop, reject, exclude More Synonyms of eliminate
3. verb
If someone says that they have eliminated an enemy, they mean that they have killed them. By using the word 'eliminate', they are trying to make the action sound more positive than if they used the word 'kill'.
He declared war on the government and urged right-wingers to eliminate their opponents. [VERB noun]
The radio station claimed that 87,000 'reactionaries' had been eliminated. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: murder, kill, do in [slang], take out [slang] More Synonyms of eliminate
More Synonyms of eliminate
eliminate in British English
(ɪˈlɪmɪˌneɪt)
verb(transitive)
1.
to remove or take out; get rid of
2.
to reject as trivial or irrelevant; omit from consideration
3.
to remove (a competitor, team, etc) from a contest, usually by defeat
4. slang
to murder in a cold-blooded manner
5. physiology
to expel (waste matter) from the body
6. mathematics
to remove (an unknown variable) from two or more simultaneous equations
▶ USAGE Eliminate is sometimes wrongly used to talk about avoiding the repetition of something undesirable:we must prevent (not eliminate) further mistakes of this kind
Derived forms
eliminable (eˈliminable)
adjective
eliminability (eˌliminaˈbility)
noun
eliminant (eˈliminant)
noun
eliminative (eˈliminative) or eliminatory (eˈliminatory)
adjective
eliminator (eˈlimiˌnator)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Latin ēlīmināre to turn out of the house, from e- out + līmen threshold
eliminate in American English
(iˈlɪməˌneɪt; ɪˈlɪməˌneɪt)
verb transitiveWord forms: eˈlimiˌnated or eˈlimiˌnating
1.
to take out; remove; get rid of
2.
to leave out of consideration; reject; omit
3.
to drop (a person, team, etc. losing a round or match in a contest) from further competition
4. Algebra
to get rid of (an unknown quantity) by combining equations
< L eliminatus, pp. of eliminare, to turn out of doors, banish < e-, out + limen, threshold (akin to limes, boundary) < IE base *(e)lei-, to bend > limb1
Examples of 'eliminate' in a sentence
eliminate
Unfortunately, Toni reflected, even war could not eliminate the emotional complications which beset man's life.
Townsend, Eileen IN LOVE AND WAR (2003)
I was opting for privacy 203 and not wishing to eliminate the pre-dinner drinks.
Anita Anderson SUMMER OF SECRETS (2003)
Had something gone wrong with Hean's attempt to eliminate Dayton?
Harcourt, Palma A MATTER OF CONSCIENCE (2003)
In other languages
eliminate
British English: eliminate /ɪˈlɪmɪˌneɪt/ VERB
To eliminate something means to remove it completely.
If you are allergic to a food, eliminate it from your diet.
American English: eliminate
Arabic: يَسْتَبْعِدُ
Brazilian Portuguese: eliminar
Chinese: 排除
Croatian: eliminirati
Czech: odstranit
Danish: eliminere
Dutch: elimineren
European Spanish: eliminar
Finnish: eliminoida
French: éliminer
German: ausschließen Möglichkeit
Greek: εξαλείφω
Italian: eliminare
Japanese: 除去する
Korean: 제거하다
Norwegian: eliminere
Polish: wyeliminować
European Portuguese: eliminar
Romanian: a elimina
Russian: удалять
Latin American Spanish: eliminar
Swedish: eliminera
Thai: ขจัด
Turkish: çıkarmak
Ukrainian: ліквідувати
Vietnamese: loại trừ xóa bỏ
Chinese translation of 'eliminate'
eliminate
(ɪˈlɪmɪneɪt)
vt
[poverty]消除 (xiāochú)
[smoking]戒除 (jièchú)
[team, contestant, candidate]淘汰 (táotài)
1 (verb)
Definition
to get rid of (something or someone unwanted, unnecessary, or not meeting the requirements needed)
The Act has not eliminated discrimination in employment.
Synonyms
remove
It's quite tricky to remove ants from your home – but not impossible.
end
Her life ended prematurely in a terrible accident.
stop
The music stopped and the lights were turned up.
withdraw
Cassandra withdrew her hand from Roger's.
He reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of paper.
get rid of
abolish
They voted to abolish the death penalty.
cut out
dispose of
terminate
Her next remark abruptly terminated the conversation.
banish
a public investment programme intended to banish the recession
eradicate
battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus
put an end to
do away with
dispense with
stamp out
exterminate
get shot of
wipe from the face of the earth
2 (verb)
Definition
to remove (a competitor or team) from a contest, esp. following a defeat
I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semifinals.
Synonyms
knock out
drop
Drop any reference to socialism.
reject
Seventeen publishers rejected the manuscript.
exclude
Vegetarians exclude meat products from their diet.
axe (informal)
Community projects are being axed by the government.
get rid of
expel
Poisonous gas is expelled into the atmosphere.
leave out
throw out
omit
Our apologies for omitting your name from the article.
put out
eject
She was ejected from her first job for persistent latecoming.
3 (verb)
Definition
to murder in cold blood
(slang)
The colonel announced that the opposition had been eliminated.
Synonyms
murder
a thriller about two men who murder a third
kill
More than 200 people were killed in the disaster.
do in (slang)
take out (slang)
terminate
slay
Two Australian tourists were slain.
blow away (slang, mainly US)
liquidate
They have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals.
annihilate
The army was annihilated.
exterminate
A huge effort was made to exterminate the rats.
bump off (slang)
rub out (US, slang)
waste (informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of abolish
Definition
to do away with (laws, regulations, or customs)
They voted to abolish the death penalty.
Synonyms
do away with,
end,
destroy,
eliminate,
shed,
cancel,
axe (informal),
get rid of,
ditch (slang),
dissolve,
junk (informal),
suppress,
overturn,
throw out,
discard,
wipe out,
overthrow,
void,
terminate,
drop,
trash (slang),
repeal,
eradicate,
put an end to,
quash,
extinguish,
dispense with,
revoke,
stamp out,
obliterate,
subvert,
jettison,
repudiate,
annihilate,
rescind,
exterminate,
invalidate,
bring to an end,
annul,
nullify,
blot out,
expunge (formal),
abrogate (archaic),
vitiate (archaic),
extirpate (archaic),
kennet (Australian, slang),
jeff (Australian, slang)
in the sense of annihilate
Definition
to destroy (a place or a group of people) completely
The army was annihilated.
Synonyms
destroy,
abolish,
wipe out,
erase,
eradicate,
extinguish,
obliterate,
liquidate,
root out,
exterminate,
nullify,
extirpate (archaic),
wipe from the face of the earth,
kennet (Australian, slang),
jeff (Australian, slang)
in the sense of axe
Definition
to dismiss (employees), restrict (expenditure), or terminate (a project)
Community projects are being axed by the government.