wipeout

or wipe-out

[ wahyp-out ]

noun

1. Informal. destruction, annihilation, or murder.
2. Informal. (in sports) a decisive defeat.
3. a fall from a surfboard.
4. Slang. a total or complete failure:

   to suffer a wipeout in the stock market.

5. Slang. complete physical exhaustion.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wipeout¹

First recorded in 1920–25; noun use of verb phrase wipe out

Example Sentences

At the time, surfboards weighed between 30 and 50 pounds and were built of hard materials that could cause injury after a wipeout.

From Washington Post

Because obviously on that dimension at least, a prediction of famine and population wipeout, Vogt was wildly wrong.

From Freakonomics

In larger surf, you can tie the board-short loop into the laces of your trunks to make sure the top doesn’t come off on a wipeout.

From Outside Online

Expect him to dot his fastball, making it cut both ways, at less than max effort with his big weapons being his wipeout curve and change-up.

From Washington Post

Democrats say it’s a little too early to say 2020 was a total wipeout for them.

From Washington Post

The 2014 election was a wipeout, progressives say, because Democrats lacked a bold economic message to inspire voters.

From The Daily Beast

So 2018 will shape up as another wipeout, and the Senate will flip back to the GOP again.

From The Daily Beast

So Wisconsin was his only hope of avoiding a triple wipeout.

From The Daily Beast

If Santorum had been able to face Romney one-on-one it would have been a wipeout.

From The Daily Beast

As Republicans faced their own wipeout in 2006, conservative commentators penned plenty of pieces along the same lines.

From The Daily Beast