wipe·out
ˈwīp-ˌau̇t 
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
wiped out; wiping out; wipes out
: to destroy completely : annihilate
: to fall or crash usually as a result of losing control
Synonyms
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
Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 10 May 2024
Bitcoin drops to $57,000 Bitcoin has continued its April wipeout into May, falling below $57,000 on Wednesday morning and technically entering into a bear market after its worst month in nearly 18 months.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 1 May 2024
Capital Economics, a research firm, estimated a $590 billion loss in commercial real estate property values last year, followed by another $480 billion wipeout this year.
—Byalena Botros, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
Playing Gypsy swing with the Hot Club of SF is still his flagship project, but the group is still getting back on track after the pandemic wipeout, which led Price to look in other pastures.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024
Liza Koshy is a total pro at keeping her cool — even when faced with an Oscars wipeout.
—Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024
Mid-to-upper 90s with a legit wipeout breaking ball.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024
Nikki Haley is still running in the Republican primary but polls predict a wipeout on Super Tuesday, with 15 states in play.
—Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Next up: at USC (Thursday) Comment: And thus completes one of ASU’s worst competition years ever against Arizona in the two major sports, with a 36-point wipeout in the Territorial Cup and losses on the hardwood by 45 (road) and 18 (home) points.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
TIME, 16 May 2024
When a grassland or forest is bulldozed for human development, most of the plants and animals are wiped out – along with their disease-causing parasites.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 15 May 2024
And their biggest concern is that as Russia replaces weaponry wiped out in the first 27 months of the war, Mr. Putin may be regaining ground just as Mr. Biden prepares to meet his closest allies at a Group of 7 meeting in Italy next month.
—Kim Barker, New York Times, 15 May 2024
True, malware written for Windows can't damage a Mac, but wiping out Windows malware guarantees the Mac can’t be used as a path to infect Windows devices on the network.
—PCMAG, 6 May 2024
Ramirez, a five-time All-Star, had been hitless in six consecutive games before connecting on a full-count fastball from Griffin Canning (1-4) in the sixth inning to wipe out a 1-0 deficit.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024
The Braves scored in the 10th inning on a sacrifice fly from Orlando Arcia, but Shohei Ohtani wiped out that run with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th to extend the game.
—Doug Padilla, Orange County Register, 3 May 2024
Venturing into schools one by one, 60-year-old Sean Cummings is on a mission to wipe out school lunch debts for kids.
—Ronnie Li, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
Philosopher Nick Bostrom got famous by explaining how AI would wipe out humanity.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 3 May 2024
Noun
The junior righthander maintained his belief in a slower but equally effective pitch, a wipeout slider that dropped off a cliff to his glove side.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 10 May 2024
Bitcoin drops to $57,000 Bitcoin has continued its April wipeout into May, falling below $57,000 on Wednesday morning and technically entering into a bear market after its worst month in nearly 18 months.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 1 May 2024
Capital Economics, a research firm, estimated a $590 billion loss in commercial real estate property values last year, followed by another $480 billion wipeout this year.
—Byalena Botros, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
Playing Gypsy swing with the Hot Club of SF is still his flagship project, but the group is still getting back on track after the pandemic wipeout, which led Price to look in other pastures.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024
Liza Koshy is a total pro at keeping her cool — even when faced with an Oscars wipeout.
—Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024
Mid-to-upper 90s with a legit wipeout breaking ball.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024
Nikki Haley is still running in the Republican primary but polls predict a wipeout on Super Tuesday, with 15 states in play.
—Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Next up: at USC (Thursday) Comment: And thus completes one of ASU’s worst competition years ever against Arizona in the two major sports, with a 36-point wipeout in the Territorial Cup and losses on the hardwood by 45 (road) and 18 (home) points.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
Verb
For most patients who are accurately diagnosed with acute Lyme, a course of antibiotics (often doxycycline) wipes out the infection.
—TIME, 16 May 2024
When a grassland or forest is bulldozed for human development, most of the plants and animals are wiped out – along with their disease-causing parasites.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 15 May 2024
And their biggest concern is that as Russia replaces weaponry wiped out in the first 27 months of the war, Mr. Putin may be regaining ground just as Mr. Biden prepares to meet his closest allies at a Group of 7 meeting in Italy next month.
—Kim Barker, New York Times, 15 May 2024
True, malware written for Windows can't damage a Mac, but wiping out Windows malware guarantees the Mac can’t be used as a path to infect Windows devices on the network.
—PCMAG, 6 May 2024
Ramirez, a five-time All-Star, had been hitless in six consecutive games before connecting on a full-count fastball from Griffin Canning (1-4) in the sixth inning to wipe out a 1-0 deficit.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024
The Braves scored in the 10th inning on a sacrifice fly from Orlando Arcia, but Shohei Ohtani wiped out that run with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th to extend the game.
—Doug Padilla, Orange County Register, 3 May 2024
Venturing into schools one by one, 60-year-old Sean Cummings is on a mission to wipe out school lunch debts for kids.
—Ronnie Li, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
Philosopher Nick Bostrom got famous by explaining how AI would wipe out humanity.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 3 May 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near wipeout
Cite this Entry
“Wipeout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wipeout. Accessed 20 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wipeout
1 of 2 noun
wipe·out
ˈwīp-ˌau̇t
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 verb1
: to destroy completely
crops wiped out by flooding
2
: to fall or crash usually as a result of losing control
the surfer wiped out
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