wipeout

noun wipe·out \ ˈwīp-ˌau̇t \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Examples: wipeout in a Sentence

Definition of wipeout

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

See wipeout defined for English-language learners

See wipeout defined for kids

Examples of wipeout in a Sentence

The surfer had a nasty wipeout.

Recent Examples of wipeout from the Web

But the main event of the night will have Pastrana attempt to jump 140-feet over the Caesar’s Palace Fountain, a stunt that Knievel never tried again after the monstrous wipeout that cemented his national stardom.

— jason duaine hahn, PEOPLE.com, "Stuntman Travis Pastrana Will Attempt Evel Knievel’s Most Death-Defying Feats on Live TV This Weekend," 6 July 2018
But that was little comfort to Republicans in swing congressional districts, who already fear a wipeout in this fall’s midterm elections, and who, in most cases, need to reach beyond die-hard Trump voters to win their races.

— david lauter, latimes.com, "Faced with a political crisis, Trump blinks, but the crisis isn't close to being over," 22 June 2018
Bundy didn't have his typical wipeout stuff, but mixed in all four of his pitches and didn't allow much hard contact to speak of en route to seven sparkling, scoreless innings.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles scrap together run to back Dylan Bundy, beat Mets, 1-0, for two-game sweep," 6 June 2018
His feature films hewed to a simple formula, depicting winter-sport athletes in challenging locales, leavened with wipeouts and shots of pretty female skiers.

— matt higgins, New York Times, "Warren Miller, Ski Bum Turned Filmmaker, Is Dead at 93," 25 Jan. 2018
The pitch was back to the wipeout state that helped Bundy to a 1.42 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 32 innings over his first five starts.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles' Dylan Bundy reverses skid with seven two-hit, shutout innings," 13 May 2018
In other awards, UK surfer Andrew Cotton was honored with the best wipeout of the year after a horrifying tumble that broke his back at Nazare in November.

— rob hodgetts, CNN, "Brazilian sets record for biggest wave ever surfed," 30 Apr. 2018
Yet such familiar ideas mainly illustrated how little the Democrats have learned from their electoral wipeout in 2016.

— The Economist, "Democrats have plenty of anger, but few good ideas," 17 May 2018
The night was a near wipeout for members of the House seeking higher office.

— alex burns, BostonGlobe.com, "6 Takeaways From Tuesday’s Primary Elections," 10 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wipeout.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of wipeout

1921

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

wipe out

verb

Definition of wipe out

transitive verb

: to destroy completely : annihilate

intransitive verb

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

See wipe out defined for kids

Examples of wipe out in a Sentence

he didn't get his gambling under control until he had already wiped out his entire life savings

Recent Examples of wipe out from the Web

Ruthless in their pursuit of collapsing whole industries, Gen Y has been held accountable for wiping out everything from napkins and Buffalo Wild Wings to cereal and bar hopping.

— refinery29.com, "Not An Entitled Millennial: How 4 Young Women Support Their Whole Families," 27 June 2018
True to the blaxploitation tradition, the filmmakers include plenty of location shooting (in the film's funniest shot, a car chase through a public park ends with the bad guy wiping out against a Confederate monument).

— j.r. jones, Chicago Reader, "Superfly rolls back the clock on African-American movie heroes," 21 June 2018
President Trump himself has made no secret of his disinterest in removing Assad, preferring to focus on wiping out the Islamic State and pushing back against Iranian influence.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "The world learns to live with Assad in Syria," 30 May 2018
By wiping out one impoverished niche class, the General Slocum has been forgotten.

— ty burr, BostonGlobe.com, "Why do some events become historic and others fade from memory?," 24 May 2018
With the deal, Birchbox’s other investors — which include top venture capital firms like Accel Partners and First Round Capital — are getting wiped out and are expected to walk away with nothing.

— jason del rey, Recode, "Birchbox has sold majority ownership to one of its hedge fund investors after sale talks with QVC fell through," 1 May 2018
Want to make antibiotics that only target bad bugs without wiping out the entire microbiome?

— megan molteni, WIRED, "The WIRED Guide to Crispr," 27 Apr. 2018
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have succeeded in wiping out an oil glut through production cuts launched in early 2017, boosting prices to a three-year high above $75 a barrel.

— rupert rowling, Bloomberg.com, "OPEC Cuts May Go Deeper as Another Member Sees Output Slump," 27 Apr. 2018
Linn emerged from bankruptcy last year under a new corporate structure after wiping out most of its investors' value.

— jordan blum, Houston Chronicle, "As Linn emerged from bankrutpcy, CEO got $60 million payday," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wipe out.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.