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Est. 1828
Dictionary Definition
 * noun
 * verb
 * noun 2
   * noun
   * verb
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WIPEOUT

1 of 2


NOUN

wipe· out ˈwīp-ˌau̇t How to pronounce wipeout (audio)

1
: the act or an instance of wiping out : complete or utter destruction

2
: a fall or crash caused usually by losing control

3
: a total or decisive defeat : drubbing


wipe out

2 of 2


VERB

wiped out; wiping out; wipes out

transitive verb

: to destroy completely : annihilate

intransitive verb

: to fall or crash usually as a result of losing control



SYNONYMS

Verb

   
 * abolish
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * annihilate
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * black out
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * blot out
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * cancel
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * clean (up)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * efface
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * eradicate
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * erase
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * expunge
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * exterminate
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * extirpate
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * liquidate
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * obliterate
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * root (out)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * rub out
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * snuff (out)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * stamp (out)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 * sweep (away)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 


EXAMPLES OF WIPEOUT IN A SENTENCE

Noun The surfer had a nasty wipeout. Verb he didn't get his gambling under
control until he had already wiped out his entire life savings

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Prices of many of the riskiest bonds sold by banks fell this week, after a
surprise wipeout of some Credit Suisse bondholders. — Rebecca Feng, WSJ, 21 Mar.
2023 On Thursday alone, the stock plummeted 60% in its biggest one-day wipeout
in history. — Caitlin McCabe, WSJ, 10 Mar. 2023
In fact, Bard made a mistake on its very first day post-launch, which investors
greeted with a $100 billion wipeout for the stock of parent company Alphabet. —
Prarthana Prakash, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2023 In 1994, Democrats suffered a wipeout of
cataclysmic proportions. — Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023 The
JPMorgan deal protects First Republic’s depositors—but concerns are circulating
that shareholders face a wipeout. — Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 3 May 2023
Inflatables will include an obstacle course, a wipeout course and a bounce
house. — Ed Wittenberg, cleveland, 7 Aug. 2023 Such were the fears of a wipeout
that there had been rumors that Sunak might have rushed into a Cabinet reshuffle
Friday. — Mark Landler, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2023 Alibaba shares have
slumped about 70% since, a wipeout of more than half a trillion dollars of
value. — Time, 20 June 2023
Verb
Paramount Pictures In Interstellar, Earth in the distant future is beset by a
devastating global famine that threatens to wipe out the entire human race. —
Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023 No sooner has
his charade been uncovered than Godzilla emerges from the depths and wipes out
everyone except Koichi and the garrison’s chief mechanic, Tachibana (Munetaka
Aoki). — Richard Kuipers, Variety, 22 Nov. 2023 In response, Israel has carried
out a campaign to wipe out Hamas that is unprecedented in its scale, reach and
devastation. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2023 Enochs and his
colleagues are looking for individuals strong enough to withstand the kind of
marine heat wave that threatened to wipe out Florida’s 360-mile-long coral reef
this summer—an ecological disaster that also put the state’s fishing, tourism
and beaches at risk. — Eric Niiler, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2023 Israel vowed to wipe out
Hamas after the militant group launched its Oct. 7 surprise attack, in which at
least 1,200 people died in Israel and around 240 were taken captive by militants
back to Gaza. — Greg Wehner, Fox News, 18 Nov. 2023 Many Jews consider the
slogan to be inherently antisemitic and a threat to wipe out the state of
Israel. — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Nov. 2023 The North
American Free Trade Agreement sent even more farming across the border, wiping
out more small Imperial operations. — Janet Wilson, ProPublica, 9 Nov. 2023 But
Japan later launched a brutal retaliation campaign, wiping out entire villages.
— Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Nov. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to
illustrate current usage of the word 'wipeout.' Any opinions expressed in the
examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us
feedback about these examples.




WORD HISTORY

First Known Use

Noun

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1535, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of wipeout was in 1535
See more words from the same year


DICTIONARY ENTRIES NEAR WIPEOUT

wipe one's feet

wipeout

wipe out

See More Nearby Entries 


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KIDS DEFINITION

wipeout

1 of 2 noun
wipe· out ˈwīp-ˌau̇t How to pronounce wipeout (audio)
1
: complete destruction

2
: a fall or crash caused usually by losing control
wipeouts on the downhill ski course are common


3
: total or final defeat
couldn't bear to watch the team's wipeout



wipe out

2 of 2 verb
1
: to destroy completely
crops wiped out by flooding


2
: to fall or crash usually as a result of losing control
the surfer wiped out



Last Updated: 11 Nov 2023 - Updated example sentences
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