extinguish
Americanverb (used with object)
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to put out (a fire, light, etc.); put out the flame of (something burning or lighted).
to extinguish a candle.
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to put an end to or bring to an end; wipe out of existence; annihilate.
to extinguish hope.
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to obscure or eclipse, as by superior brilliance.
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Law. to discharge (a debt), as by payment.
verb
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to put out or quench (a light, flames, etc)
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to remove or destroy entirely; annihilate
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archaic to eclipse or obscure by or as if by superior brilliance
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law to discharge (a debt)
Other Word Forms
- extinguishable adjective
- extinguisher noun
- extinguishment noun
- nonextinguishable adjective
- nonextinguished adjective
- preextinguish verb (used with object)
- preextinguishment noun
- self-extinguishing adjective
- unextinguishable adjective
- unextinguished adjective
Etymology
Origin of extinguish
1535–45; < Latin ex ( s ) tingu ( ere ) ( ex- ex- 1 + stinguere to quench) + -ish 2
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.
The company that flips the houses it buys online reported a widening loss of $1.1 billion, from a $113 million loss in the year-ago period, mostly on the cost of extinguishing debt.
From MarketWatch
“I had this idea: ‘What if humanity could be extinguished and the Earth would survive?’”
From Los Angeles Times
Scott said that the team should outline the LAFD’s efforts to extinguish the Lachman fire, define the “holdover phenomenon” and highlight new policies and procedures to prevent it from happening in the future.
From Los Angeles Times
Residents were advised to keep windows and doors closed during the fire and the excavation process required to extinguish it.
From BBC
So far Simon does indeed seem to have remained in her "bubble", as she needs to be with more medals up for grabs before the Olympic flame at these Games is extinguished.
From Barron's
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.
