EXTERM'INATE, verb transitive [Latin extermino; ex and terminus, limit.] Literally, to drive from within the limits or borders. Hence, 1. To destroy utterly; to drive away; to extirpate; as, to exterminate a colony, a tribe or a nation; to exterminate inhabitants or a race of men. 2. To eradicate; to root out; to extirpate; as, to exterminate error, heresy, infidelity or atheism; to exterminate vice. 3. To root out, as plants; to extirpate; as, to exterminate weeds. 4. In algebra, to take away; as, to exterminate surds or unknown quantities.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI