Wipe

Pronunciation

• IPA: /waɪp/
• Rhymes: -aɪp

From Middle English wipen, from Old English wīpian ("to wipe, rub, cleanse"), from Proto-Germanic *wīpōną ("to wipe"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)weib-, *(s)weip- ("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"). More at swivel, swift.

Full definition of wipe

Verb

1. (transitive) To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (cf. rub)Melissa wiped her glasses with her shirt.I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand.Tom started to wipe his eyes.
• 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of OzSo they passed through the Palace Gates and were led into a big room with a green carpet and lovely green furniture set with emeralds. The soldier made them all wipe their feet upon a green mat before entering this room, and when they were seated he said politely...
2. (transitive) To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; usually followed by away, off, or out.
• unknown date MiltonSome natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon.
3. (obsolete) To cheat; to defraud; to trick; usually followed by out.
• unknown date Robynson (More's Utopia)If they by coveyne covin or gile be wiped beside their goods.
4. (transitive, computing) To erase.I accidentally wiped my hard drive.
5. (transitive, plumbing) 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.

Noun

1. The act of wiping something.multiple wipes of a computer's hard disk
2. A soft piece of cloth or cloth-like material used for wiping.
3. 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.

Derived terms

• asswipe
• wipe away
• wipe off
• wipe out
• wipeout
• wipe somebody's eye
• wipe the floor
• wipe the slate clean
• wiper

Compare Swedish vipa, Danish vibe ("lapwing").

Noun

1. The lapwing.