wipe

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /waɪp/ See IPA manual

Freq #3033

Meanings

1

verb
To clean or dry a surface by rubbing it with a cloth, hand, or similar.

Melissa wiped her glasses with her shirt.
2

verb
To remove something by rubbing, often with 'away', 'off', or 'out'.

He wiped away his tears and smiled.
3

verb
To erase all the data from a disk or device.

I accidentally wiped my hard drive.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with wipe

wipe off Phrasal verb B2

to remove something by rubbing a surface with a cloth or similar object

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms wipedwipeswiping

Derived forms asswipehandi-wipepie-wipewipe-breechwipe-downwipe-outwipeoutwiper

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Idioms (1)

See all

wipe the slate clean
to forgive or forget past problems so a fresh start is possible

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.

*weyp- Proto-Indo-European wipen Middle English wīpian Old English *wīpōn Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# wipe

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /waɪp/
**Frequency rank:** 3033

## Meanings
1. To clean or dry a surface by rubbing it with a cloth, hand, or similar.
2. To remove something by rubbing, often with 'away', 'off', or 'out'.
3. To erase all the data from a disk or device.

## Examples
- Melissa wiped her glasses with her shirt.
- He wiped away his tears and smiled.
- I accidentally wiped my hard drive.

## Derived Forms
- asswipe
- handi-wipe
- pie-wipe
- wipe-breech
- wipe-down
- wipe-out
- wipeout
- wiper

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *weyp-
- Root: wipen
- Root: wīpian
- Root: *wīpōn

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Wipe is 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. In present-day use, it can mean to clean or dry a surface by rubbing it with a cloth, hand, or similar, or to remove something by rubbing, often with 'away', 'off', or 'out'.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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