e ‧ lim ‧ i ‧ nate AC /ɪˈlɪməneɪt, ɪˈlɪmɪneɪt/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ eliminate ; noun : ↑ elimination ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: eliminatus , past participle of eliminare 'to put out of doors' ]
1 . to completely get rid of something that is unnecessary or unwanted ⇨ eradicate
eliminate a need/possibility/risk/problem etc
The credit card eliminates the need for cash or cheques.
There is no solution that will totally eliminate the possibility of theft.
eliminate something/somebody from something
Fatty foods should be eliminated from the diet.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say get rid of rather than eliminate :
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It is almost impossible to get rid of the problem.
2 . [usually passive] to defeat a team or person in a competition, so that they no longer take part in it SYN knock out :
Our team was eliminated in the first round.
3 . to kill someone in order to prevent them from causing trouble:
a ruthless dictator who eliminated all his rivals
4 . eliminate somebody from your enquiries British English if the police eliminate someone from their enquiries, they decide that that person did not commit a particular crime