elimination

noun

elim·​i·​na·​tion i-ˌli-mə-ˈnā-shən 

often attributive

: the act, process, or an instance of eliminating or discharging: such as

a

: the act of discharging or excreting waste products from the body

b

: the removal from a molecule of the constituents of a simpler molecule

ethylene is formed by the elimination of water from ethanol

compare addition sense 4

Examples of elimination in a Sentence

the elimination of waste products from the body

Recent Examples on the Web

Members of Unite, the union representing garbage truck workers, walked off the job March 11 over the elimination of a job position and painful pay cuts. —Arkansas Online, 8 Apr. 2025

The evidence of this century does not bode well for an approach that throws ever more money at the Pentagon while decimating non-military tools of statecraft, as has happened with the virtual elimination of the Agency for International Development (AID). —William Hartung, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025

With declining childhood vaccination rates nationwide and multiple state outbreaks, public health officials remain concerned about maintaining the country's measles elimination status. —John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025

Once common across the U.S. Southeast, red wolves began dying out because of habitat loss and predator-control programs that targeted the animal for elimination. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing elimination

• process of elimination

Rhymes for elimination

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

elimination

noun

elim·​i·​na·​tion i-ˌlim-ə-ˈnā-shən 

: the act or process of eliminating or emptying: as

a

: the act of excreting or emptying waste products from the body

b

: the act or process of excluding from a match, game, or contest the losers of any round or heat

Medical Definition

elimination

noun

elim·​i·​na·​tion i-ˌlim-ə-ˈnā-shən 

1

: the act of discharging or excreting waste products or foreign substances from the body

2

eliminations plural : bodily discharges including urine, feces, and vomit

3

: the removal from a molecule of the constituents of a simpler molecule

ethylene is formed by the elimination of water from ethanol