Meaning
淘汰 means to remove something or someone from a competition, system, or process because they are no longer useful, competitive, or meeting standards. It carries the sense of natural selection or deliberate removal of the inferior or outdated.
Usage
Commonly used in competitive contexts like sports tournaments, reality shows, or business (eliminating contestants/teams), and also for technology or products becoming obsolete. Can be used as a transitive verb (to eliminate something) or in passive constructions (被淘汰 - to be eliminated). Frequently appears in the phrase 被淘汰 when describing someone/something that has been eliminated.
Examples
- 01我们队在第一轮就被淘汰了。.Our team was eliminated in the first round.
- 02这种旧技术很快就会被淘汰。.This old technology will soon be phased out.
Characters
Common collocations
- 被淘汰to be eliminated
- 淘汰赛elimination round/tournament
- 淘汰机制elimination mechanism
- 优胜劣汰survival of the fittest
Antonyms
Origin
Both characters relate to washing and sifting. 淘 originally referred to washing rice or gold panning (removing impurities), while 汰 means to wash away or discard. Together they convey the process of filtering out the unwanted or inferior.