Wipe Definition

wīp

wiped, wipes, wiping

verb

wiped, wipes, wiping

To rub or pass over with a cloth, mop, etc., as for cleaning or drying.

Webster's New World

To clean or dry in this manner.

Wipe the dishes.

Webster's New World

To rub or pass (a cloth, the hand, etc.) over something.

Webster's New World

To remove by or as by wiping.

Webster's New World

To apply by wiping.

Wipe oil over the surface.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

noun

An act or instance of wiping.

Webster's New World

Something used for wiping; specif., a disposable tissue or towel, typically of pre-moistened paper or cloth and variously designed for cleansing the skin, cleaning eyeglasses, etc.

Webster's New World

A cam that activates another part; a wiper.

American Heritage

A blow; swipe.

Webster's New World

A transitional editing effect in which one scene appears to replace another as by gradually moving it across the frame.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
rub

idiom

wipe out

to remove; erase
to kill off

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Wipe

Noun

Singular:

wipe

Plural:

wipes

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Wipe

wipe out

Origin of Wipe

From Middle English wipen, from Old English wÄ«pian (“to wipe, rub, cleanse"), from Proto-Germanic *wÄ«pōnÄ… (“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 swÄ«fan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene"). More at swivel, swift.

From Wiktionary
Middle English wipen from Old English wīpian weip- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Compare Swedish vipa, Danish vibe (“lapwing").

From Wiktionary