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wipe out

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wipe out

 

1. Inf. to crash. I wiped out on the curve. The car wiped out on the curve.

2. . Inf. to fall off or away from something, such as a bicycle, skates, a surfboard, a skateboard, etc. I wiped out and skinned my knee. If I wipe out again, my mother says I'm through.

3. Inf. to fail badly. The test was terrible! I'm sure I wiped out. It was a bad test. I wiped out for sure.

See also: out, wipe

wipe someone out

 

1. Sl. to kill someone. Max intended to wipe Lefty's gang out. Lefty wiped out Max's gang.

2. . Sl to exhaust or debilitate someone. The long walk wiped me out. The trip wiped out the hikers.

3. . Inf. to ruin someone financially. The loss of my job wiped us out. The storm ruined the corn crop and wiped out everyone in the county.

See also: out, wipe

wipe something out

Sl. to use up all of something. I wiped the cookies out—not all at once, of course. Who wiped out the strawberry preserves?

See also: out, wipe

wipe out

to have a very serious accident Jim wiped out on the ice and broke his leg. He was driving crazily and wiped out on a curve.

Usage notes: usually someone wipes out because they are going too fast

See also: out, wipe

wipe out (somebody/something)

also wipe somebody/something out

1. to destroy someone or something We were ordered to wipe out a small enemy force hiding in the village. The floods wiped whole villages out.

2. to cause someone to lose or spend all their money My neighbor was totally wiped out by the last recession. A night out with Paul and Michelle just about wiped us out.

See also: out, wipe

wipe out

1. 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.

2. 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]

See also: out, wipe

wipe out

v.

1. To destroy something completely; obliterate something: A mudslide wiped out the road to the village. Another strong wind could wipe the damaged building out completely.

2. To kill someone or something, especially a group or part of a group: The invaders wiped out the entire population of the countryside. This disease could wipe many of the villagers out.

3. To exhaust the strength or energy of someone; wear someone out: The hike up the mountain wiped us out. The long practice wiped out the whole football team.

4. To reduce some value or amount to zero or nothing: The reckless spending wiped out the budget surplus. The company's renewed sales wiped their debts out completely.

5. To reduce someone to poverty or bankruptcy: A bad harvest wiped out the remaining farms. My travel expenses are going to wipe me out.

6. To invalidate or nullify something: A grand slam wiped out six innings of flawless pitching. A silly remark wiped the politician's reputation out completely.

7. To erase data from some computer storage device: The program wipes out the old data before writing the new data. Reformatting a disk will wipe it out.

8. To lose one's balance and fall, as when skiing or surfing: At the top of the hill, I wiped out and nearly hit another skier.

See also: out, wipe

wipe out

1. in. to crash. The car wiped out on the curve.

2. in. to fall off or away from something, such as a bicycle, skates, a surfboard, a skateboard, etc. I wiped out and skinned my knee.

3. (ˈwɑɪpɑʊt) n. a wreck. (Usually wipe-out.) There was a four-car wipe-out on the expressway when I came in this morning.

4. n. an accident on a bicycle, skates, surfboard, skateboard, etc. (Usually wipe-out.) I had a nasty wipe-out, but I only bruised my elbow.

5. n. a loser; someone who is likely to wipe out. (Usually wipe-out.) The guy’s a wipe-out, for sure.

See also: out, wipe