What does "wipe" mean?
The act of wiping something.
Wipe
/waɪp/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of wiping something.
- Grammar: wipe is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: rub, air-dry, anhydrate, backspaces.
- Useful contrasts: recent imprint, anoint, apply natural system approach.
- Usage evidence: Would you wipe the table for me?
How to use "wipe"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "wipe" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "wipe" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "wipe" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "wipe" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "wipe" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "rub" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "wipe", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of wiping something.
"multiple wipes of a computer's hard disk"
- 2 A lapwing, especially a northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus).
- 3 An instance of all members of a party dying in a single campaign, event, or battle; a wipeout.
- 4 the act of rubbing or wiping wordnet
- 5 A soft piece of cloth or cloth-like material used for wiping.
"When on a plane or train, don't take anything into the bathroom except baby, a changing pad, a diaper, a travel packet of wipes, and a bottle of hand sanitizer. Always use a wipe on the area before you put your baby down."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A handkerchief. UK, obsolete, slang
""Now, my kiveys, shy up your castors, tie your bird's-eye wipes to the stakes, and go to work.""
- 7 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.
- 8 A sarcastic remark; a reproof, a jibe. obsolete
"I could not help giving Metcalfe a wipe for his lamentations, observing I should have thought he had enough to attend to at home."
- 9 A blow or swipe; the act of striking somebody or something. UK, obsolete, slang
"He rode close up to a French officer, and so much in advance of his men that the Frenchman thought he was going to surrender, and dropped his sword, when Penrice gave him a wipe over his head."
Verb
- 1 To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.) transitive
"Melissa wiped her glasses with her shirt."
- 2 To have all members of a party die in a single campaign, event, or battle; to be wiped out. intransitive
"If you try to fight that boss underprepared, you're definitely gonna wipe."
- 3 rub with a circular motion wordnet
- 4 To smear (a substance) with this kind of motion. transitive
"You've wiped grease all over your shirt."
- 5 To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; usually followed by away, off, or out. transitive
"Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 To clean (the anus, buttocks and/or genitals) after defecation or urination. ambitransitive
"I had nothing to wipe my bum with."
- 7 To erase. transitive
"I accidentally wiped my hard drive."
- 8 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. transitive
- 9 To remove an expression from one's face. figuratively
"You should wipe that smirk off your face before the boss comes in."
- 10 To deperm (a ship). transitive
- 11 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.
"Steve-O tells the camera, “Don’t worry; the next skit’s gonna be amazing”; he then pretends to grab the side of the screen, which “wipes” to the next shot."
- 12 To hit or strike. UK, obsolete, slang
- 13 To cheat; to defraud; to trick; usually followed by out. obsolete
"The English, which they thinke lye still in wayte to wipe them out of theyr landes."
Example
"Would you wipe the table for me?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "wipe"?
Common synonyms include: rub, air-dry, anhydrate, backspaces, bake, blackout.
How do you use "wipe" in a sentence?
Would you wipe the table for me?
How do you pronounce "wipe"?
Pronounced /waɪp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Compare Swedish vipa, Danish vibe (“lapwing”).
Etymology 3
From wipe out (verb) and wipeout (noun) by shortening.