wipeout

American  

[wahyp-out] / ˈwaɪpˌaʊt /

Or wipe-out

noun

1. Informal. destruction, annihilation, or murder.

2. Informal. (in sports) a decisive defeat.

3. a fall from a surfboard.

4. Slang. a total or complete failure.

   to suffer a wipeout in the stock market.

5. Slang. complete physical exhaustion.

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Etymology

Origin of wipeout

First recorded in 1920–25; noun use of verb phrase wipe out

Example Sentences

Even if they prove fairly insulated from a wipeout, they do stand to lose significant business from the whole mess.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

The leverage some traders pile on to their bets can lead to a total wipeout in seconds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026

For assets that many investors treat as protection, the speed and scale of the wipeout in gold and silver on Friday was unnerving.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

That put the stock on pace for the fourth largest one-day valuation wipeout ever by a U.S. company, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025

“Once a year having this transformative wipeout and getting all this new information — it’s a really cool thing to me,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2025