wipe

/waip/

Thân thiện

She uses a damp cloth to wipe the kitchen counter.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • An act of cleaning or drying a surface by moving something over it: A "wipe" is the action of rubbing a surface with a cloth, hand, or other material to clean or dry it.
   • A single instance of this action: It can also refer to the single motion or stroke used to clean something.

2. Verb:

   • To clean or dry a surface by moving something over it: The primary meaning is to rub a surface with a cloth, hand, or other material to remove dirt, liquid, or marks.
   • To remove or eliminate something by cleaning: It can also mean to cause something to be removed or disappear by the act of wiping.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He gave the table a quick wipe with a damp cloth.
  • One wipe was enough to clear the fog from the mirror.

• Verb:

  • Please wipe the counter after you finish cooking.
  • She wiped her hands on her apron.
  • He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Advanced Usage

• "to wipe the slate clean": To forget past mistakes or arguments and start again.

  • After their big argument, they decided to wipe the slate clean and be friends again.

• "to wipe something from the map": To completely destroy a place or thing.

  • The powerful storm nearly wiped the small island from the map.

Variants and Related Words

• Wiper (n): A device or person that wipes. Commonly refers to the blades on a vehicle that clear the windshield.

  • The car's wipers couldn't keep up with the heavy rain.

• Wipeable (adj): Describing a surface that can be easily wiped clean.

  • The table has a wipeable laminate surface.

Synonyms

• Rub: To apply pressure and friction to a surface.
• Clean: To make something free from dirt or marks.
• Mop: To clean or soak up liquid from a floor or surface.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Wipe away: To remove something (like tears or a stain) by wiping.

  • She gently wiped away the child's tears.

• Wipe off: To remove something from a surface by wiping.

  • He wiped off the dust from the old bookshelf.

• Wipe out:

  • To clean the inside of something thoroughly.

    • She wiped out the bowl before using it.
  • To destroy or eliminate completely.

    • The disease nearly wiped out the entire population.
  • (Informal) To make someone extremely tired.

    • That long hike completely wiped me out.

• Wipe up: To clean a liquid or spill by wiping.

  • Could you wipe up the milk you spilled?

Related Idioms

• Wipe the floor with someone: To defeat someone completely and easily in a competition or argument.

  • The debate champion wiped the floor with his opponent.

• Wipe the smile off someone's face: To stop someone from being happy or smug, often by giving them bad news.

  • The sudden bad news wiped the smile off his face.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the act of rubbing or wiping
   • he gave the hood a quick rub

Verb

1. rub with a circular motion
   • wipe the blackboard
   • He passed his hands over the soft cloth

Từ đồng nghĩa

• rub
• pass over