snuff out

Idioms  

1. Extinguish, put a sudden end to, as in Three young lives were snuffed out in that automobile accident . This usage alludes to snuff in the sense of “put out a candle by pinching the wick,” an area itself called snuff from the late 1300s on. [Mid-1800s]

2. Kill, murder, as in If he told the police, the gang would snuff him out . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s]

3. Also, snuff it . Die or be killed, as in He looked very ill indeed, as though he might snuff out any day , or Grandpa just snuffed it . [ Slang ; second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

He felt the wind try to snuff out his belief, his hope, but he held on tightly to it.

From Literature

Home sales have limped along since rising prices and mortgage rates snuffed out the pandemic’s ultrahot seller’s market several years ago.

From Barron's

Among the dead were athletes, artists and students whose photographs and brief biographies have since flooded social media, creating a digital memorial of young lives snuffed out under an internet blockade.

From The Wall Street Journal

"While some within the state may think that punishing outlets that refuse to toe the line may snuff out critical voices, in the modern age this is next to impossible," the editorial board said.

From BBC

His strictly regulated factory model brooks no challenges from his workers, and he employs an enormous security force to snuff out the merest whisper of pro-union sentiment.

From The Wall Street Journal