Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: eliminatus, past participle of eliminare 'to put out of doors'

eliminate

 verb
     
e‧lim‧i‧nate [transitive]
1 to completely get rid of something that is unnecessary or unwanted
eliminate a need/possibility/risk/problem etc
The credit card eliminates the need for cash or cheques.
The teacher should try to eliminate the possibility that the child has a hearing defect.
eliminate something/somebody from something
Fatty foods should be eliminated from the diet.
2 [usually passive] to defeat a team or person in a competition, so that they no longer take part in it:
Our team was eliminated in the first round.
3 to kill someone in order to prevent them from causing trouble:
a ruthless dictator who eliminated all his rivals
4

eliminate somebody from your enquiries

British English if the police eliminate someone from their enquiries, they decide that that person did not commit a particular crime
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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