Wipe, v. t. [imp. & p. p.Wiped (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Wiping.] [OE. vipen, AS. wīpian; cf. LG. wiep a wisp of straw, Sw. vepa to wrap up, to cuddle one's self up, vepa a blanket; perhaps akin to E. whip.]
1. To rub with something soft for cleaning; to clean or dry by rubbing; as, to wipe the hands or face with a towel.
Let me wipe thy face. Shak.
I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. 2 Kings xxi. 13.
2. To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; — usually followed by away, off or out. Also used figuratively. “To wipe out our ingratitude.” Shak.
Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon. Milton.
3. To cheat; to defraud; to trick; — usually followed by out. Spenser.
If they by coveyne or gile be wiped beside their goods. Robynson (More's Utopia)
To wipe a joint(Plumbing), 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. — To wipe the nose of, to cheat.