eliminate-v; 5 Senses

Sense Number 1: eradicate, destroy, extinguish, get rid of

Commentary: Syntax Is: NP1[agent] ELIMINATE NP2[patient]

Examples:
The company has eliminated several of its perks, including free lunches.
They believe these policies will eliminate half the national debt in five years.
The auto industry has eliminated 12,000 jobs in North America this year.
I fear their intent is to eliminate the several ethnic populations of that region.
The mob wanted to eliminate him for cooperating with the FBI.

Mappings:
VerbNet: murder-42.1,remove-10.1
FrameNet: Removing,Killing
PropBank: eliminate.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1, 2, 3

Sense Number 2: exclude, or rule out from a list of possibilities

Commentary: Syntax Is: NP1[agent] ELIMINATE NP2[patient]
NOTE: This sense implies removing selected members from a larger set

Examples:
At this point we can't eliminate any of the possibilities.
The police have eliminated Bob as a suspect.
Look at the answer choices and eliminate wrong answers until there is only one answer.

Mappings:
VerbNet: remove-10.1
FrameNet: Removing
PropBank: eliminate.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 4

Sense Number 3: physically excrete waste

Commentary: Syntax Is: NP1[topic] ELIMINATE (NP)

Examples:
The man was given a laxative before surgery to help him eliminate.
Her dog has trouble eliminating after eating bones.
The new treatment plant now keeps raw sewage from eliminating into the bay. (metaphoric)

Mappings:
VerbNet: remove-10.1
FrameNet: Removing
PropBank: eliminate.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 5

Sense Number 4: beat, vanquish or disqualify a participant from a contest

Commentary: Syntax Is: NP1[agent] ELIMINATE NP2[patient]
NOTE: Usually appears in passive form.

Examples:
John was eliminated during the second round of the ping pong tournament.
Two athletes were eliminated from the competition for using drugs.
He'll be eliminated from the game for receiving his third penalty.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NM
FrameNet: NM
PropBank: eliminate.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 6

Sense Number 5: remove mathematically

Commentary: Syntax Is: NP1[instrument] ELIMINATE NP2[patient[abstract]]
NOTE: valid mathematical operations are the instrument by which a variable is removed.
NOTE: 'We can eliminate' really implies 'we can apply operations to eliminate'

Examples:
We can now eliminate X from these equations.
You cannot eliminate Y by dividing each equation by X + 1.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NM
FrameNet: NM
PropBank: eliminate.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 7