rubbed out

Definition of rubbed outnext
past tense of rub out
1
as in destroyed
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of aerial bombs rubbed out the oil refinery

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rubbed out But an Irish knock-on rubbed out a try for Jack Conan, and the second chance was turned over by Mann. ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026 No Mob boss, cheerfully decreeing that an inconvenient witness be rubbed out, could be more resolute. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbed out
Verb
  • While there are no comprehensive studies comparing the environmental impacts of cultivated versus conventional seafood, alternatives like Wildtype could avoid ocean pollution and overfishing, which have caused losses in biodiversity and destroyed the ocean’s resiliency.
    Jaia Clingham-David, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Yutu destroyed 85% of the Saipan campus of Northern Marianas College, said the school's president, Galvin Deleon Guerrero.
    Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • In July 1963, he and other members of the Everest team, including Gombu, were presented the Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society — which partially sponsored the expedition — by President Kennedy, four months before the president was assassinated.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Presidents and presidential candidates have been assassinated.
    Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Without widespread vaccine adherence, illnesses that were once eradicated can make a return.
    Sukhman Rekhi, Verywell Health, 13 Apr. 2026
  • Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio has not been eradicated, according to the World Health Organization.
    ABC News, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Scott would play Ben Wyatt, a former teen mayor who’d ruined his town financially and was now paying penance by becoming a state budget auditor.
    Jennifer Armstrong, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Voicer Peter Sulzicki may be correct in that the three-pointer has ruined the game of basketball.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Most of Arminius’s family had been murdered by Spanish soldiers.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
  • Casey Becker was one of the very first characters to be murdered by Ghostface in the 1996 horror film.
    Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Baron, from the Child Abuse Prevention Council, said the county should have been well aware of all that information — and erased her from the list of potential foster parents.
    Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The number of people facing high levels of hunger in Haiti is expected to drop slightly, according to a new report released Thursday, but officials say the situation remains critical and that any small gains might soon be erased because of soaring oil prices linked to the war in Iran.
    ABC News, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Sunday night, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson said recovery phase began with removing larger pieces of concrete that crews demolished from the once seven-story parking garage, which was being built for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia employees.
    Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
  • That architecture of comparison has been demolished.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Fox News was on the ground as authorities executed a search warrant in Spring, Texas.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Brooke Taylor, FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2026
  • If the transaction passes the check, the transaction is executed.
    Jack Kubinec, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Rubbed out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbed%20out. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.

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