elimination

/əlɪmɪˈneɪʃɪn/

/əlɪmɪˈneɪʃən/

Other forms: eliminations

Elimination is the process of getting rid of something, whether it’s waste, errors, or the competition.

Elimination comes from the Latin word limen, which means threshold. The Romans added an “e” to the beginning and created the verb eliminare, which means to banish or to push over the threshold and out the door. If you solve a multiple-choice question on a test using the process of elimination, you rule out the wrong possibilities one by one until you find the right answer.

Definitions of elimination

1. noun

   the act of removing or getting rid of something
   synonyms: riddance

   types:

   simplification

   elimination of superfluous details

   oversimplification, simplism

   an act of excessive simplification; the act of making something seem simpler than it really is

   rationalisation, rationalization

   (mathematics) the simplification of an expression or equation by eliminating radicals without changing the value of the expression or the roots of the equation

   type of:

   remotion, removal

   the act of removing
2. noun

   analysis of a problem into alternative possibilities followed by the systematic rejection of unacceptable alternatives
   synonyms: reasoning by elimination

   type of:

   analysis, analytic thinking

   the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations
3. noun

   the bodily process of discharging waste matter
   synonyms: evacuation, excreting, excretion, voiding

   types:

   incontinence, incontinency

   involuntary urination or defecation

   micturition, urination

   the discharge of urine

   bm, bowel movement, movement

   a euphemism for defecation

   enuresis, urinary incontinence

   inability to control the flow of urine and involuntary urination

   haematochezia, hematochezia

   passage of stools containing blood (as from diverticulosis or colon cancer or peptic ulcer)

   leak, making water, passing water, wetting

   a euphemism for urination

   lithuresis

   passing small stones with the urine

   nocturia, nycturia

   excessive urination at night; especially common in older men

   oliguria

   production of an abnormally small amount of urine

   pee, peeing, piss

   informal terms for urination

   urochesia, urochezia

   passage of urine from the anus

   type of:

   discharge, emission, expelling

   any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body
4. noun

   the murder of a competitor
   synonyms: liquidation

   type of:

   execution, murder, slaying

   unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
5. noun

   the act of removing an unknown mathematical quantity by combining equations
   type of:

   remotion, removal

   the act of removing