wipe
/waɪp/verb, noun
wipe is spelled W-I-P-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,009th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, wipe means “To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wipe?
| Letters | 4: W-I-P-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 7,009th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is wipe?
Wipe appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,009th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wipe?
- /waɪp/
Wipe has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wipe.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wipe
- wipes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- wiping participle, present
- wiped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wipe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.)
Melissa wiped her glasses with her shirt.
- 2
To smear (a substance) with this kind of motion.
You've wiped grease all over your shirt.
- 3
To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; usually followed by away, off, or out.
- 4
To clean (the anus, buttocks and/or genitals) after defecation or urination.
I had nothing to wipe my bum with.
- 5
To erase.
I accidentally wiped my hard drive.
- 6
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.
- 7
To remove an expression from one's face.
You should wipe that smirk off your face before the boss comes in.
- 8
To deperm (a ship).
- 9
To have all members of a party die in a single campaign, event, or battle; to be wiped out.
If you try to fight that boss underprepared, you're definitely gonna wipe.
noun
- 1
The act of wiping something.
multiple wipes of a computer's hard disk
- 2
A soft piece of cloth or cloth-like material used for wiping.
- 3
UKobsoleteslangA handkerchief.
- 4
A kind of film transition where one shot replaces another by travelling from one side of the frame to another or with a special shape.
- 5
obsoleteA sarcastic remark; a reproof, a jibe.
I could not help giving Metcalfe a wipe for his lamentations, observing I should have thought he had enough to attend to at home.
- 6
UKobsoleteslangA blow or swipe; the act of striking somebody or something.
- 7
A lapwing, especially a northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus).
- 8
An instance of all members of a party dying in a single campaign, event, or battle; a wipeout.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wipe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | essuyer , lingette |
| German | wischen , schmieren , löschen |
| Portuguese | esfregar, enxugar, limpar |
| Spanish | enjugar, trapear, entrapar, enjutar, esponjar, guaipear |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wipe come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).