Standard Lemma guide

remote

adj · noun · verb · 15 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: [ɹɪˈməʊt]
  • UK: [ˌɹiːˈməʊt]
  • UK: [ɹəˈməʊt]
  • US: [ɹɪˈmoʊt]
  • Ireland: /ɹəˈməʊt̞/
  • Ireland: /ɹəˈmʌo̞/
  • Ireland: /ɹəˈmʌo̞ʔ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊt
  • CMU ARPABET: R IH0 M OW1 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: R IY0 M OW1 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

At a distance; disconnected.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • A remote operator may control the vehicle with a wireless handset.
  • remote workers

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: disconnected, hands-free, wireless

Antonyms: attached, connected, contiguous, direct, presential

2

adj

Meaning 2

Distant or otherwise inaccessible.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • After his fall from the emperor's favor, the general was posted to a remote outpost.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: far, hidden, distant, far-flung, far-off, faraway, outlandish, outlying, out of the way, remote

Antonyms: close, near, proximate, around the corner, citerior, close by, immediate, nearby, nigh, present, propinquitous

3

adj

Meaning 3

Slight.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: especially

Examples

  • There was only a remote possibility that we would be rescued as we were far outside of the regular shipping lanes.
  • They have a very remote chance of winning.
  • You have a remote resemblance to my grandmother.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: distant, faint, small

Antonyms: considerable, great, reasonable, sure

4

adj

Meaning 4

Emotionally detached.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • After her mother's death, my friend grew remote for a time while she dealt with her grief.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: aloof, dispassionate, distant, removed, withdrawn, cool, frosty, hankty, hard-to-get, offish, quiet, remote, standoffish, strange, thorny, touch-me-not-ish, unapproachable, unbending, undemonstrative, unimpressionable, uninvolved

Antonyms: companionable, intimate, involved, passionate

5

noun

Meaning 5

Ellipsis of remote control.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Examples

  • I hate it when my uncle comes over to visit; he always sits in the best chair and hogs the remote.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

An element of broadcast programming originating away from the station's or show's control room.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: broadcasting, media

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A source control repository hosted on a remote machine, rather than locally.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To connect to a computer from a remote location.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

to remove (from something or someone)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

adjective

Meaning 10

far apart in relevance or relationship or kinship

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a distant cousin
  • a remote relative
  • a distant likeness
  • considerations entirely removed (or remote) from politics

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: distant

Antonyms: none provided

11

adjective satellite

Meaning 11

inaccessible and sparsely populated;

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: outback(a)

Antonyms: none provided

12

adjective satellite

Meaning 12

located far away spatially

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • distant lands
  • remote stars

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: distant

Antonyms: none provided

13

adjective satellite

Meaning 13

separate or apart in time

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • distant events
  • the remote past or future

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: distant, removed

Antonyms: none provided

14

adjective satellite

Meaning 14

very unlikely

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an outside chance
  • a remote possibility
  • a remote contingency

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: outside

Antonyms: none provided

15

noun

Meaning 15

a device that can be used to control a machine or apparatus from a distance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he lost the remote for his TV

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: remote control

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: device

History

Etymology

From Middle English remote, from Old French remot, masculine, remote, feminine, from Latin remotus, past participle of removere (“to remove”), from re- + movere (“to move”).

Across languages

Translations

157 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: afgeleë — at a distance
  • Arabic: بَعِيد (baʕīd) — at a distance
  • Arabic: بعيد (beʕīd) — at a distance
  • Arabic: بعيدة (beʕīda) — at a distance
  • Arabic: بعاد (buʕād) — at a distance
  • Azerbaijani: uzaq — at a distance
  • Azerbaijani: əlçatmaz — at a distance
  • Azerbaijani: iraq — at a distance
  • Azerbaijani: ucqar — at a distance
  • Bashkir: алыҫ (alıś) — at a distance
  • Bashkir: йыраҡ (yıraq) — at a distance
  • Belarusian: далёкі (daljóki) — at a distance
  • Bulgarian: дале́чен (daléčen) — at a distance
  • Catalan: remot — at a distance
  • Chinese Cantonese: 遠 /远 (jyun5) — at a distance
  • Chinese Mandarin: 遠 /远 (yuǎn) — at a distance
  • Chinese Mandarin: 遙遠 /遥远 (yáoyuǎn) — at a distance
  • Czech: daleký — at a distance
  • Czech: vzdálený — at a distance
  • Dutch: verwijderd — at a distance
  • Dutch: afgelegen — at a distance
  • Dutch: van op afstand — at a distance
  • Dutch: veraf — at a distance
  • Esperanto: fora — at a distance
  • Finnish: etäinen — at a distance
  • Finnish: kaukainen — at a distance
  • Finnish: etä- — at a distance
  • Finnish: kauko- — at a distance
  • French: distant — at a distance
  • French: loin — at a distance
  • French: lointain — at a distance
  • German: fern — at a distance
  • German: entfernt — at a distance
  • German: abgelegen — at a distance
  • German: fernbetrieb — at a distance
  • Hebrew: מרוחק (merukhaq) — at a distance
  • Higaonon: madiyo — at a distance
  • Hindi: दूर (dūr) — at a distance
  • Hindi: दूरस्थ (dūrasth) — at a distance
  • Hungarian: távoli — at a distance
  • Icelandic: afskekktur — at a distance
  • Indonesian: jarak jauh — at a distance
  • Indonesian: remote — at a distance
  • Ingrian: etähäin — at a distance
  • Italian: remoto — at a distance
  • Japanese: 遠い (tōi) — at a distance
  • Japanese: 遠隔な (enkaku na) — at a distance
  • Japanese: 辺鄙な (henpi na) — at a distance
  • Japanese: 遥かな (haruka na) — at a distance
  • Korean: 원격 (won'gyeok) — at a distance
  • Korean: 먼 (meon) — at a distance
  • Korean: 외딴 (oettan) — at a distance
  • Latin: remōtus — at a distance
  • Latin: reductus — at a distance
  • Macedonian: далечен (dalečen) — at a distance
  • Norwegian: fjern — at a distance
  • Persian: دور (dur) — at a distance
  • Persian: دوردست (durdast) — at a distance
  • Polish: zdalny — at a distance
  • Portuguese: remoto — at a distance
  • Portuguese: longínquo — at a distance
  • Portuguese: distante — at a distance
  • Romanian: depărtat — at a distance
  • Romanian: îndepărtat — at a distance
  • Russian: далёкий (daljókij) — at a distance
  • Russian: да́льний (dálʹnij) — at a distance
  • Russian: отдалённый (otdaljónnyj) — at a distance
  • Russian: удалённый (udaljónnyj) — at a distance
  • Sanskrit: दूर (dūra) — at a distance
  • Scottish Gaelic: cian — at a distance
  • Scottish Gaelic: cèin — at a distance
  • Scottish Gaelic: fad às — at a distance
  • Serbo-Croatian: да̀лек — at a distance
  • Serbo-Croatian: dàlek — at a distance
  • Slovak: ďaleký — at a distance
  • Slovene: oddaljen — at a distance
  • Slovene: dáleč — at a distance
  • Spanish: remoto — at a distance
  • Swedish: avlägsen — at a distance
  • Swedish: fjärr- — at a distance
  • Tocharian B: akañce — at a distance
  • Turkish: uzak — at a distance
  • Turkish: uzaktan kontrol — at a distance
  • Turkish: ırak — at a distance
  • Ukrainian: дале́кий (dalékyj) — at a distance
  • Urdu: دور (dūr) — at a distance
  • Vietnamese: xa — at a distance
  • Afrikaans: afgeleë — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Azerbaijani: əlçatmaz — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Bulgarian: отдалечен (otdalečen) — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Catalan: remot — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Chinese Mandarin: 偏僻的 — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Czech: nepřístupný — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Czech: vzdálený — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Esperanto: izolita — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Finnish: syrjäinen — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Finnish: etäinen — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • French: éloigné — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • French: lointain — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • German: abgelegen — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Hebrew: נִדָּח (nidáẖ) — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Hindi: दूरस्थ (dūrasth) — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Irish: iargúlta — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Italian: remoto — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Latin: remōtus — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Latin: repositus — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Latvian: nomaļš — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Latvian: attāls — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Latvian: tāls — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Malay: terpencil — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Norman: êlouongni — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Polish: odległy — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Polish: daleki — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Polish: oddalony — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Portuguese: isolado — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Portuguese: inacessível — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Scottish Gaelic: fad às — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Scottish Gaelic: iomallach — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Slovene: odročen — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Slovene: oddaljen — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Spanish: remoto — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Swedish: avlägsen — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Swedish: fjärran — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Swedish: fjärr- — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Turkish: ücra — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Ottoman Turkish: اوزاق (uzak) — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Ottoman Turkish: ایراق (ırak) — distant or otherwise unaccessible
  • Arabic: رموت (rimōt, rumūt) — remote control
  • Arabic: ريموت (rīmōt) — remote control
  • Bulgarian: дистанционно (distancionno) — remote control
  • Czech: dálkový ovladač — remote control
  • Finnish: kaukosäädin — remote control
  • French: télécommande — remote control
  • German: Fernbedienung — remote control
  • Greek: τηλεχειριστήριο (tilecheiristírio) — remote control
  • Hebrew: שַׁלָּט (shalát) — remote control
  • Indonesian: pengendali jarak jauh — remote control
  • Marathi: रिमोट (rimoṭ) — remote control
  • Norwegian: fjernkontroll — remote control
  • Polish: pilot — remote control
  • Portuguese: controle — remote control
  • Portuguese: controlo remoto — remote control
  • Romanian: telecomandă — remote control
  • Russian: ПДТ (PDT) — remote control
  • Russian: пульт (pulʹt) — remote control
  • Russian: дистанцио́нка (distanciónka) — remote control
  • Slovene: daljinec — remote control
  • Spanish: control remoto — remote control
  • Spanish: mando a distancia — remote control
  • Spanish: control — remote control
  • Spanish: mando — remote control
  • Turkish: kumanda — remote control
  • Ukrainian: пульт (pulʹt) — remote control
  • Vietnamese: điều khiển từ xa — remote control
  • Vietnamese: remote — remote control
  • Vietnamese: rì-mốt — remote control
  • Vietnamese: điều khiển — remote control
Real reading context

remote in complete knowledge articles