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

Pardons do not wipe convictions from a person’s record, but instead eliminate some, but not all, penalties associated with a conviction. —Sara Dorn, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024

Organize your important documents To eliminate the need for a family member to search through decades of documents to find the important ones, create a folder called ‘Important Documents’ to help reduce the burden. —Ken Colburn, The Arizona Republic, 1 Dec. 2024

Trump also touted sweeping tax breaks, including eliminating levies on tips, overtime pay and Social Security. —Bryan Mena, CNN, 30 Nov. 2024

Convincing a shipper to transport the batteries also required a pricey workaround: They were removed from the phones and placed in barrels filled with sand, eliminating the fire danger. —Vince Beiser, WIRED, 30 Nov. 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