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

They strip out growth companies get from opening new locations and describe how the core business is doing.

From The Daily Beast

Then she cuts a strip out of his back, eats up the whole of the viands he has prepared for his companions, and disappears.

From Project Gutenberg

He dug a tender strip out of the centre of a hanging codfish, and walked out.

From Project Gutenberg

Spread this strip out on some cosmic floor, and you could place upon it side by side 55 globes as large as the earth.

From Project Gutenberg

He spread the strip out once more, smoothing the many creases, and having again run his eye over the letters commenced to read.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he tore a strip out of his jacket and wrapped it around his shoulder as tightly as he could.

From Project Gutenberg

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