wipe
/waɪp/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.01 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.)
Transitive verb
verb
To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; usually followed by away, off, or out.
Transitive verb
verb
To make (a joint, as between pieces of lead pipe), by surrounding the junction with a mass of solder, applied in a plastic condition by means of a rag with which the solder is shaped by rubbing.
Transitive verb
verb
To remove an expression from one's face.
Example Sentences
- "Melissa wiped her glasses with her shirt."
- "I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand."
- "Tom started to wipe his eyes."
- "So they passed through the Palace Gates and were led into a big room with a green carpet and lovely green furniture set with emeralds. The soldier made them all wipe their feet upon a green mat before entering this room, and when they were seated he said politely[…]"
- "You've wiped grease all over your shirt."
- "Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *weyp-, wipen, wīpian, *wīpōn