blot out

verb

blotted out; blotting out; blots out

transitive verb

1

: to make obscure, insignificant, or inconsequential

2

: wipe out, destroy

Synonyms

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

Examples of blot out in a Sentence

blotted out all evidence of tampering with the explosive device

bushes blotted out the shed from our view

Recent Examples on the Web

Millions of Americans, from southern Texas to northern Maine were in the path of totality where the moon completely blots out the sun. —Visual Editors, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024

Brian Thompson, a literal human being, has been blotted out by his symbolic role as the head of UnitedHealthcare. —Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 13 Dec. 2024

Despite cloudy skies, Nashville partial eclipse wowed Tennesseans were able to nerd out Monday afternoon as astronomy, cosmology, meteorology and a little theology collided in the heavens over North America, casting a black shadow that, in some places, blotted out the midday sun. —David Farré, The Tennessean, 9 Apr. 2024

China’s rulers systematically blotted out many of the most important parts of the 1980s. —Julian Gewirtz, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

blot out

verb

1

: to make unimportant

2

: to make hard to see or invisible : hide

3

: destroy sense 1, kill