Wipe \Wipe\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wiped; p. pr. & vb. n. Wiping.]

[OE. vipen, AS. w[=i]pian; 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. [Obs.]

--Spenser.

If they by coveyne [covin] 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. [Old Slang]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)