use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

wipe (wīp)
Share:
tr.v. wiped, wip·ing, wipes
1.
a. To subject to light rubbing or friction, as with a cloth or paper, in order to clean or dry.
b. To clean or dry by rubbing: wiped my feet before I went inside.
c. To rub, move, or pass (a cloth, for example) over a surface.
2.
a. To remove by or as if by rubbing: wipe off dirt; wipe away grease.
b. To blot out completely, as from the memory.
3.
a. To spread or apply by or as if by wiping: wiped furniture polish over the table.
b. To form (a joint) in plumbing by spreading solder with a piece of cloth or leather.
n.
1. The act or an instance of wiping.
2. Something, such as a towel or tissue, used for wiping.
3. A cam that activates another part; a wiper.
4.
a. A blow or swipe.
b. Informal A jeer; a gibe.
5. A transition from one scene in a film or movie to another, effected by means of a line passing across the screen.
Phrasal Verb:
wipe out
1. To destroy or be destroyed completely.
2. Slang To murder.
3. Sports To lose one's balance and fall, as when skiing or surfing.
[Middle English wipen, from Old English wīpian; see weip- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products