remove
remove — verb
1. to cause an object or person to no longer be in a particular place or on a parti
to cause an object or person to no longer be in a particular place or on a particular surface, often through lifting, pulling, or detaching
Ezra removed the old books from the shelf before painting the room.
remove + object + from + place
The nurse gently removed the bandage from Ayana's arm.
Could you help me remove this dark stain from the kitchen floor?
remove + object from + surface (stain removal)
Obi removed his muddy boots before stepping inside the house.
The waiter removed the empty plates from the table.
- remove a stain
- remove a bandage
- remove clothing
- remove something from the table
Grammar Patterns
remove + object + from + place
remove + object + off + surface
Usage Note
This is the most concrete and frequent sense. The removed item is typically a physical object that can be lifted, pushed, or taken off a surface or out of a container.
Common Mistakes
2. to cause an unpleasant or unwanted feeling, thought, or condition to vanish or n
to cause an unpleasant or unwanted feeling, thought, or condition to vanish or no longer exist
The warm tea helped remove the tension from Tanvi's shoulders after a long day.
remove + abstract noun (tension)
The company's public apology removed any doubt about their commitment to customer safety.
A good night's sleep finally removed the headache that had bothered Mayumi all afternoon.
remove + physical condition (headache)
Talking to a close friend slowly removed the worry from Ziad's mind.
The new safety measures removed the threat of flooding from the neighbourhood.
remove + abstract noun (threat)
- remove doubt
- remove fear
- remove tension
- remove a threat
- remove suspicion
- eliminate
stronger, suggests complete removal
- get rid of
less formal, everyday speech
- alleviate
suggests reducing rather than complete removal
Grammar Patterns
remove + abstract noun (doubt, fear, tension, threat)
Usage Note
Subject is typically an event, action, time, or effort — not a person directly. The feeling removed is always something unwanted (doubt, fear, worry, tension, pain, threat).
Common Mistakes
3. to officially force someone out of a high-ranking job or position of authority,
to officially force someone out of a high-ranking job or position of authority, typically because they have done something wrong, performed poorly, or lost people's trust
The board voted to remove the CEO from his role after the financial scandal.
remove + person + from + role (formal)
The school principal was removed from her position for failing to address the bullying problem.
passive: be removed from position
Gabriel's father was removed from his post as ambassador after the diplomatic crisis.
The committee can remove any member who misses three consecutive meetings without notice.
active: committee + remove + member
After the investigation, two senior officials were removed from their government posts.
- remove from office
- remove from power
- remove from one's post
- remove from the committee
Grammar Patterns
remove + person + from + position
be removed from office/post
Usage Note
Typically used in passive voice when the person being removed is the topic. The agent (the body doing the removal — board, committee, president) appears in active sentences. Often paired with from + role/post/office.
Common Mistakes
4. to transfer someone or something to a different area, building, or residence, us
to transfer someone or something to a different area, building, or residence, usually for a practical or official purpose
The company plans to remove its research department from Chicago to Boston next year.
remove + object + from + to + place
The family removed to a quieter neighbourhood after the children started school.
remove + to + place (intransitive)
The general removed his troops to a safer position behind the hill before the battle.
Several families were removed to temporary housing after the earthquake.
passive: be removed to + place
- remove troops
- remove to a new location
- remove the office
- remove residents
Grammar Patterns
remove + object + to + place
remove + to + place (intransitive)
Usage Note
In modern English, this sense is mostly formal or historical. For everyday relocation, 'move' or 'relocate' is more common. 'Remove' in this sense appears more often in formal writing about military, business, or institutional moves.
Common Mistakes
5. to leave a place or situation; to go away, often by one's own choice
to leave a place or situation; to go away, often by one's own choice
The guests removed themselves from the party before the argument escalated.
reflexive: remove oneself from [situation]
Élise quietly removed to her study when the discussion became too heated.
remove + to + place (formal departure)
The security guard asked the protesters to remove themselves from the building entrance.
reflexive: remove oneself from [place]
Nicholas removed from the meeting room without saying a single word.
- remove oneself
- remove from the premises
- remove from the room
Grammar Patterns
remove + from + place
remove oneself + from + place
Usage Note
This sense is highly formal and somewhat dated in modern English. It survives most commonly in two patterns: the reflexive 'remove oneself from' and formal instructions ('please remove yourself from the premises'). For everyday speech, 'leave' or 'go away' is preferred.
It means that something is not similar to or connected with another thing.
Her painting style is far removed from traditional techniques.
The new policy is further removed from our original goals.
It describes a family relationship where people are from different generations.
My grandfather's cousin is my first cousin twice removed.
Is your aunt's granddaughter your cousin once removed?
remove — noun
1. the process or action of taking something or someone away from a place or making
the process or action of taking something or someone away from a place or making something disappear
The remove of the old wallpaper from the kitchen took the workers three full days.
pattern: the + remove + of + object
The building contractor charged extra for the remove of the old concrete foundation.
pattern: for + the + remove + of + object
After the slow remove of all the broken shelves, the room felt much larger.
pattern: after + the + remove + of + object
The careful remove of the damaged roof tiles was supervised by the building inspector.
pattern: the + remove + of + object (passive agent)
- the removal of
- for removal
- removal
much more common, standard term
- taking away
informal, everyday speech
Grammar Patterns
the + remove + of + object
preposition + the + remove + of + object
Usage Note
This noun sense is mostly found in formal writing or technical instructions. In everyday speech, speakers use 'removal' instead.
Common Mistakes
2. a measurable distance or space that lies between two things or places
a measurable distance or space that lies between two things or places
The cottage stands at a considerable remove from the nearest village.
at a [adjective] remove from [place]
At a considerable remove from the main building, the two statues stood facing each other across the garden.
at a [adjective] remove from [place]
The island is at some remove from the mainland and reachable only by boat.
The witnesses stood at a safe remove from the collapsed building.
- at a remove from
- at some remove
- at a safe remove
Grammar Patterns
at a remove from
Usage Note
Nearly always used in the fixed phrase 'at a/some remove from', which signals a formal or literary register. In everyday speech, 'distance' is preferred.
Common Mistakes
3. a level or stage that separates two things, ideas, or people in an abstract way
a level or stage that separates two things, ideas, or people in an abstract way — for example, how distant a relative is or how far a concept has moved from its origin
A cousin once removed is the child of your first cousin or your parent's first cousin.
once removed — kinship term
The final policy was several removes away from the original proposal.
several removes from [origin]
The new design stood at one remove from the traditional style of its time.
Lakshmi feels her rural poverty is at several removes from her grandmother's reality.
- once removed
- at one remove from
- at several removes from
- distance
can also be used abstractly
- separation
neutral term for being apart
Grammar Patterns
at one/several remove(s) from
once/twice removed
Usage Note
Most common in the kinship expressions 'once removed', 'twice removed', etc. In figurative use, 'at one remove from' means one step or degree of separation away from something. The plural 'removes' is also found ('several removes from').
Common Mistakes
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
Remove is the most general of these words, covering physical objects (removing a book from a shelf) as well as abstract things (removing doubt). Take away is less formal and more everyday — you take away your child's toys, but a surgeon removes a tumour. Withdraw suggests a careful or deliberate removal, often from a situation (withdraw troops, withdraw money from an account). Extract implies effort or force, typically pulling something out from inside something else, like extracting a tooth or a quote from a text. Delete is digital — it removes data, files, or words from a document. For example: 'The librarian removed the damaged book from the collection' (general), but 'Please delete this paragraph from the report' (digital).
Common collocations
Etymology
Remove comes from Latin 'removere', a combination of 're-' (meaning back or away) and 'movere' (to move). It passed into English through Old French 'removoir' in the 14th century. The original sense was simply 'to move from one place to another', which later developed the more specific meanings of taking things away, dismissing people from positions, and eliminating feelings. The noun senses emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries, evolving from the concrete idea of a physical gap to the abstract idea of a degree of separation.