v. & n.
v.tr. 1 clean or dry the surface of by rubbing with the hands or a cloth etc. 2 rub (a cloth) over a surface. 3 spread (a liquid etc.) over a surface by rubbing. 4 (often foll. by away, off, etc.) a clear or remove by wiping (wiped the mess off the table; wipe away your tears). b remove or eliminate completely (the village was wiped off the map). 5 a erase (data, a recording, etc., from a magnetic medium). b erase data from (the medium). 6 Austral. & NZ sl. reject or dismiss (a person or idea).
n. 1 an act of wiping (give the floor a wipe). 2 a piece of disposable absorbent cloth, usu. treated with a cleansing agent, for wiping something clean (antiseptic wipes). wipe down clean (esp. a vertical surface) by wiping. wipe a person's eye colloq. get the better of a person. wipe the floor with colloq. inflict a humiliating defeat on. wipe off annul (a debt etc.). wipe out 1 a destroy, annihilate (the whole population was wiped out). b obliterate (wiped it out of my memory). 2 sl. murder. 3 clean the inside of. 4 avenge (an insult etc.). wipe-out n. 1 the obliteration of one radio signal by another. 2 an instance of destruction or annihilation. 3 sl. a fall from a surfboard. wipe the slate clean see SLATE. wipe up 1 Brit. dry (dishes etc.). 2 take up (a liquid etc.) by wiping. wipeable adj.
[ OE wipian: cf. OHG wifan wind round, Goth. weipan crown: rel. to WHIP ]