# eliminate

/ɪˈɫɪməˌneɪt/ (US) · /ɪlˈɪmɪnˌeɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/eliminate
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to remove or get rid of

verb · CEFR B2

to completely remove something that is not wanted or needed.

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

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

### 2. to knock out of a competition

verb · CEFR B2

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

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

- Our team was eliminated in the first round of the tournament.
- 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').

### 3. to rule out a possibility

verb · CEFR B2 · Academic

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

For teachers: to remove from consideration during an investigation or logical process.

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

### 4. to kill or destroy

verb · CEFR C1 · Slang · Formal

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

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

- The secret agent was ordered to eliminate the threat before it reached the city.
- The tactical unit was tasked to eliminate the enemy's communication hub to prevent them from calling for reinforcements.

Teaching 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

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical · Academic

to get rid of waste from your body.

For teachers: to expel or excrete waste products from the system.

- The kidneys help the body eliminate toxins through urine.
- The study measured how quickly the liver could eliminate the drug from the patient's bloodstream.

## Examples

- The team worked hard to eliminate all the errors in the report.
- The new security system was designed to eliminate the risk of unauthorized access to the building.
- By refining the manufacturing process, the company managed to eliminate unnecessary waste and significantly reduce its carbon footprint over the last fiscal year.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.