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wipe

Pronunciation: /wʌɪp/

Translate wipe | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of wipe

verb

[with object]
  • 1clean or dry (something) by rubbing with a cloth, a piece of paper, or one’s hand:Paulie wiped his face with a handkerchief he wiped down the kitchen wall
  • [with adverbial] remove (dirt or moisture) from something by wiping:she wiped away a tear
  • clean (something) by rubbing it against a surface:the man wiped his hands on his hips
  • [with adverbial] spread (a liquid) over a surface by rubbing:gently wipe the lotion over the eyelids
  • 2 [with adverbial] remove or eliminate (something) completely:their life savings were wiped out things have happened to wipe the smile off Kate’s face
  • erase (data) from a tape, computer, etc.: a virus that can wipe information from computer hard disks the tapes have been wiped
  • Australian/NZ informal reject or dismiss (a person or idea):you can wipe that idea, if that’s what you’re thinking
  • 3pass (a swipe card) over an electronic reader: a customer wipes the card across the reader and enters his/her identification number

noun

  • 1an act of wiping: Bert was giving the machine a final wipe over with an oily rag
  • 2an absorbent disposable cloth, especially one treated with a cleansing agent, for wiping something clean.
  • 3a cinematographic effect in which an existing picture seems to be wiped out by a new one as the boundary between them moves across the screen.

Phrases

wipe someone's eye

British informal, dated get the better of someone.

wipe the floor with

informal inflict a humiliating defeat on:they wiped the floor with us in a 3-0 win

wipe the slate clean

forget past disagreements or faults and make a fresh start: an amnesty for political offenders which would wipe the slate clean and bury the past

Phrasal Verbs

wipe something off

subtract an amount from a value or debt:the crash wiped 24 per cent off stock prices

wipe out

informal
be capsized by a wave while surfing.
North American fall over or off a vehicle.

wipe someone out

  • 1kill a large number of people:the plague had wiped out whole villages
  • 2ruin someone financially.
  • 3 (be wiped out) informal be exhausted or intoxicated: I’m so wiped out I’m ready to keel over

Derivatives

wipeable

adjective

Origin:

Old English wīpian, of Germanic origin; related to whip

wipe in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of wipe in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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