English Explanatory Dictionary

wipe

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.)
  2. To smear (a substance) with this kind of motion.
  3. To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; usually followed by away, off, or out.
  4. To clean (the anus, buttocks and/or genitals) after defecation or urination.
  5. To erase.
  6. To make (a joint, as between pieces of lead pipe), by surrounding the junction with a mass of solder, applied in a plastic condition by means of a rag with which the solder is shaped by rubbing.
  7. To remove an expression from one's face.
  8. To deperm (a ship).
  9. To perform a transition in which one scene or slide is replaced with another over time along a horizontal axis, as if one scene or slide is a layer being slid off the other.
  10. To hit or strike.
  11. To cheat; to defraud; to trick; usually followed by out.
noun
  1. The act of wiping something.
  2. A soft piece of cloth or cloth-like material used for wiping.
  3. A handkerchief.
  4. A kind of film transition where one shot replaces another by travelling from one side of the frame to another or with a special shape.
  5. A sarcastic remark; a reproof, a jibe.
  6. A blow or swipe; the act of striking somebody or something.
noun
  1. A lapwing, especially a northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus).
verb
  1. To have all members of a party die in a single campaign, event, or battle; to be wiped out.
noun
  1. An instance of all members of a party dying in a single campaign, event, or battle; a wipeout.

Pronunciation

/waɪp/ en-us-wipe.ogg

Word forms

wipe wipes wiping wiped

Etymology

From Middle English wipen, from Old English wīpian (“to wipe, rub, cleanse”), from Proto-West Germanic *wīpōn (“to wipe”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to twist, wind around”). Cognate with German wippen (“to bob”), Swedish veva (“to turn, wind, crank”), Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽 (weipan, “to wreathe, crown”), Old English swīfan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene”), Sanskrit वेपते (vépate, “to tremble”). More at swivel, swift.

Synonyms

wipeoff TPK

Derived words

asswipe baby wipe barn door wipe clock wipe data wipe flip wipe handi-wipe pie-wipe sanitizing wipe sky the wipe wet wipe wipe away wipe-breech wipe down wipe-down wipe off wipe oneself wipeout wipe out wipe-out wiper wipe somebody's eye wipe someone's eye wipe someone's nose wipe the floor wipe the floor with someone wipe the slate clean wipe the smile off someone's face wipe up wipe warmer party wipe
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