wipe out
Britishverb
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(tr) to destroy completely; eradicate
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informal (tr) to murder or kill
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(intr) to fall or jump off a surfboard or skateboard
noun
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an act or instance of wiping out
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the interference of one radio signal by another so that reception is impossible
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Destroy, as in The large chains are wiping out the independent bookstores . Originally put simply as wipe , the idiom acquired out in the first half of the 1800s.
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Kill; also, murder. For example, The entire crew was wiped out in the plane crash , or The gangsters threatened to wipe him and his family out . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2023
Make the filling: Wipe out, rinse and dry the food processor bowl.
From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2022
Wipe out skillet with paper towels and cook remaining 2 sandwiches.
From Washington Times • Oct. 1, 2018
Wipe out the forests where they thrive probably killed off more than just the pigeon but in a species that's rather homogeneous, well, that's a lesson for another species I know.
From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2017
Wipe out the law entirely that gives us a third of our husband's property; we can make better bargains than that ourselves with our husbands.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
