strip out

verb

1. tr to remove the working parts of (a machine)
2. to remove (a chemical or component) from a mixture

Example Sentences

The terraced house on Haig Road in South Shore, Blackpool, is a stone's throw away from the promenade but the auctioneers warned it would require a "strip out and re-fit".

From BBC

"It's about trying to strip out the mistake from the deliberate," Mr Hewitson said.

From BBC

Titley says she and her team went through the original footage "painstakingly" to strip out much of the original furniture.

From BBC

But does the heat and time required to ferment this mighty berry strip out any of those potential health-promoting compounds?

From Science Daily

Williams said that before these models can be used, they will need to be modified to strip out that bias.

From Science Daily

More About Strip Out

What does strip out mean?

Strip out means to remove parts from something, usually a machine, as in Maria taught her son to strip out all the gears from the motor.

In engineering, when you strip out parts from a machine, you usually don’t intend to replace the parts in the original machine, at least at that time. You might strip out working parts to put in another machine or you might strip them out to rebuild them and replace them later.

In chemistry, to strip out means to remove a chemical or component from a mixture.This is usually done by boiling and condensing the mixture, often to remove impurities, organic matter, and other chemicals. 

Example: If you change the color palette, you strip out what makes the piece special in the first place.

Where does strip out come from?

The first records of the term strip out are unknown. It combines strip, meaning “to clear out or empty,” and out, meaning “away from the normal place.” The phrase literally means “to take something away from its normal place.”

Strip out is also used figuratively to mean to remove, such as stripping out an idea, sentence, or paragraph  from an essay. A person’s personality could be stripped out of something they’ve created, meaning any personal influences are removed, for example. If something has been removed completely from its source, you can say it’s been stripped out.

Did you know … ?

What are some synonyms for strip out?

• extract
• pull out
• separate
• take out
• remove

What are some words that share a root or word element with strip out? 

• strip
• out

What are some words that often get used in discussing strip out?

• chemical
• component
• machine
• parts

How is strip out used in real life?

Strip out is frequently used in reference to machinery or chemical engineering. It is also frequently used figuratively.

Huawei UK ban. A thread on the US war with China. It looks like the UK government will fully ban Huawei equipment for 5G this week. This will be a costly blow to 5G in the UK, forcing operators to strip out infrastructure and pass those costs to consumers. It’ll take years (1/7)

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) July 13, 2020

"If you strip out all expenses we were very profitable"

The short version of a lot of management commentary in earnings releases.

— Ian Cassel (@iancassel) July 24, 2018

I’d rather choose someone to interview from a Twitter feed than a resume.
A blog than a resume.
Or a single thing they’ve accomplished:

Resumes as everything that’s wrong with the biz world. A useless formulaic way to strip out anything that matters and reduce risk on hirer.

— Tom Goodwin (@tomfgoodwin) October 7, 2019

Updated on February 27, 2023

Try using strip out!

Which of the following is NOT a synonym for strip out?

A. return
B. gut
C. pull out
D. extract