What does "eliminate" mean?

1. (to remove or get rid of) to completely remove something that is not wanted or needed. 2. (to knock out of a competition) to defeat a person or team so they cannot continue in a competition. 3. (to rule out a possibility) to decide that someone or something is not responsible for something after looking at the facts. 4. (to kill or destroy) to kill a person or destroy a target, often used in movies or by the military. 5. (to pass waste from the body) to get rid of waste from your body.

How do you use "eliminate"?

Transitive; always requires a direct object representing the thing being removed. Often used in the passive voice ('be eliminated from'). Commonly used with 'as' to specify the category being ruled out.

eliminate

US //ɪˈɫɪməˌneɪt// UK //ɪlˈɪmɪnˌeɪt// elim·i·nate

1 to remove or get rid of (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to completely remove something that is not wanted or needed.

to remove, eradicate, or put an end to something, typically a problem, risk, or unwanted element.

Example

The new safety rules helped to eliminate the risk of accidents in the factory.

Example

The administration's primary goal was to eliminate bureaucratic redundancies that had been draining the department's budget for years.

Usage

Transitive; always requires a direct object representing the thing being removed.
- create
- retain
2 to knock out of a competition (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Sport

to defeat a person or team so they cannot continue in a competition.

to exclude a contestant or team from further participation in a competition following a defeat.

Example

Our team was eliminated in the first round of the tournament.

Example

Despite a valiant effort in the final minutes, the defending champions were eliminated from the playoffs after a narrow loss.

Usage

Often used in the passive voice ('be eliminated from').
- knock out
- exclude
- qualify

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3 to rule out a possibility (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Academic

to decide that someone or something is not responsible for something after looking at the facts.

to remove from consideration during an investigation or logical process.

Example

The police were able to eliminate him as a suspect because he was at work.

Example

By cross-referencing the timestamps, the investigators could eliminate several theories regarding the cause of the system failure.

Usage

Commonly used with 'as' to specify the category being ruled out.
- rule out
- discard
- dismiss
- include
- suspect
4 to kill or destroy (v.)
C1 Advanced Slang Formal Military

to kill a person or destroy a target, often used in movies or by the military.

to kill a person or neutralize a military target; frequently used as a euphemism in intelligence or combat contexts.

Example

The secret agent was ordered to eliminate the threat before it reached the city.

Example

The tactical unit was tasked to eliminate the enemy's communication hub to prevent them from calling for reinforcements.

Teacher's tip

This is often a cold, clinical euphemism for killing; it is common in action movies and military reports but sounds very harsh in daily life.
5 to pass waste from the body (v.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Academic Medicine

to get rid of waste from your body.

to expel or excrete waste products from the system.

Example

The kidneys help the body eliminate toxins through urine.

Example

The study measured how quickly the liver could eliminate the drug from the patient's bloodstream.
- excrete
- expel
- absorb

Origin

Borrowed from Latin ēlīminātus, perfect passive participle of ēlīminō (“to turn out of doors, banish”), from ē- + līmen (“a threshold”, līmin- in compounds) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), akin to Latin līmes (“a boundary”); see also English limit and limen.