Eliminate | Vocabulary | Khan Academy

What's up, wordsmiths? This video is about the word eliminate. [Music]

It's a verb. It means to remove or get rid of something. The word comes to us from Latin, and it's a combination of two parts: "ex," which means out or away (think exit), and "limit," which means edge or threshold (think limit). You're pushing something over the threshold, then out the door. There he goes!

You'll notice it's not "ex-limonade." Sometimes "ex" gets shortened down to just "e," as it does here or in words like eject or emit. For now, just know that sometimes "ex" becomes "e," as in eliminate. Thinking of those elements "ex" or "lim," try to come up with a couple of similar words in English that contain those parts. I'll give you 10 seconds.

All right, take it away. Music break! [Music]

Here are some of mine: exit, like the opposite of an entrance; a place you go out of. Limit, like the edge or the end of something. And subliminal! This is a fun one; it means below the threshold of awareness. You might have heard of subliminal messaging, like how I've been subtly flashing the words "eat more mangoes" on screen for the last five seconds. I haven't been paid by any mango growers or anything; I just think they're tasty fruits.

But to eliminate something is to get rid of it for good. Let's try it in a sentence, and you can see how it comes across. It usually has a kind of dire connotation, kind of scary. "Our new directive of public order will eliminate those troublemakers for good," sneered the minister of peace. Right creepy! I didn't even need to do the voice.

Uh, getting rid of troublemakers for good sounds pretty frightening, not gonna lie. A less creepy example—you might see it in an advertising context—like this: "Fabulous product eliminates 99% of household odors." Fabulous little product in its spray can! It removes the odors. It takes them away. It puts them beyond the threshold, the limit of your awareness.

I hope that this video has eliminated any confusion about the meaning of the word eliminate. All right, I'm exiting now. Catch you in the next one! You can learn anything. David out.