snuff out
Idioms-
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]
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Kill, murder, as in If he told the police, the gang would snuff him out . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s]
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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]
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.
Diomande also showed power and sleight of foot to escape when Ecuador doubled up on him in an attempt to snuff out his threat.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
To snuff out talk of goblins, OpenAI said it killed the “nerdy” personality in March.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
The Netherlands forward was impressive and scored the winner from the spot after David Hancko's header made it 2-2 in the 75th minute to snuff out any lingering hopes of an unlikely comeback.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Up stepped Curran again, bowling a masterful 19th over to snuff out Italian hopes.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
She could tell he was following her thoughts: Twins snuff out the angel's breath.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
