blot out

Idioms  

1. Obliterate, wipe out of existence or memory, as in At least one Indian nation was blotted out as the pioneers moved west, or The trauma of the accident blotted out all her memory of recent events. This idiom, first recorded in 1516, uses the verb to blot in the sense of making something illegible by spotting or staining it with ink. The New Testament has it (Acts 3:19): “Repent ye ... that your sins may be blotted out.”

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Example Sentences

Many of the towering sycamore trees and elder oaks — probably far older than even the adult Scout leaders — still blot out the midday sun with new, green leaves sprouting from their charred trunks.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

The moon was too far from Earth to completely blot out the sun, but will be at just the right distance on April 8.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2023

In just over five months, a total solar eclipse will blot out the sun across a wide swath of North America for the first time since 2017.

From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2023

As the moon lines up precisely between Earth and the sun, it will blot out all but the sun’s outer rim.

From Washington Times • Oct. 10, 2023

I got behind it, anything to blot out that heartbreaking scene.

From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• consume
• crush
• damage
• dismantle
• end
• eradicate
• gut
• impair
• kill
• maim
• ravage
• raze
• ruin
• sabotage
• shatter
• smash
• smash-up
• wipe out
• wreck