wipe out
Britishverb
-
(tr) to destroy completely; eradicate
-
informal (tr) to murder or kill
-
(intr) to fall or jump off a surfboard or skateboard
noun
-
an act or instance of wiping out
-
the interference of one radio signal by another so that reception is impossible
-
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.
-
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.
The rise in automation, though, has also raised concerns about whether AI will wipe out certain jobs in software engineering, customer service, entertainment and other areas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The rapid advances in AI spurred some industry leaders to proclaim that machine intelligence would wipe out millions of jobs almost overnight.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Sunrun is likely to wipe out most of its losses for 2026 thanks to Wednesday’s gains.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Greenspan believed financial institutions had a self interest in not taking risks that would wipe out shareholders; similarly, he thought they had natural incentives to behave ethically to preserve the value of their reputations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
The carriage is made of such light wood that if you wipe out making the hairpin turns at either end of the track, you’ll probably tip over and crush both the chariot and yourself.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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.
