rubout 1 of 2

noun

Definition of ruboutnext
as in murder
the intentional and unlawful taking of another person's life the mafia boss ordered a rubout as casually as you might order a pizza

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rub out

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to destroy
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of aerial bombs rubbed out the oil refinery

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to assassinate
to put to death deliberately an elaborate setup to rub out rival mobsters

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to eradicate
to destroy all traces of a promise to rub out the city's drug trade

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 rubout
Noun
Investigators suspect Robinson wanted the rubout. — Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
Verb
The News started a morning edition to rub out its competitor. — Tim Kiska, Detroit Free Press, 21 Dec. 2024 Apply additional pressure while attempting to rub out these stains, but don't go crazy. — Gia Yetikyel, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2024 See All Example Sentences for rubout
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubout
  1. murder
  2. destroy
  3. assassinate
  4. eradicate
  5. homicide
  6. ruin
  7. slay
  8. erase
Noun
  • The judge presiding over the case of Jorge Barahona, charged with the brutal murder of his daughter, said Barahona must be prepared to go to trial — or to reach a plea deal.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Clancy was charged with three counts of murder for the 2023 deaths of her three children in Massachusetts.
    — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of murder
Verb
  • After Israel destroyed Jenin refugee camp during the Second Intifada in 2002, a young girl looked into Mohammad Bakri’s camera and said that Palestinians would live proudly as eagles and die standing like lions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • That’s because key refineries that produce it have been knocked offline or destroyed, both in Eastern Europe — where the Ukraine-Russia war still rages — and in the Middle East.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of destroy
Verb
  • Loosely based on an unfinished novel by Federico García Lorca, a writer assassinated during the Spanish Civil War, the film explores the lives of three gay men in three time periods.
    — A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, will stand trial after a Utah judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors presented enough evidence to move forward on all seven charges against him.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of assassinate
Verb
  • The team has eradicated every invasive casuarina pine, the Australian import whose needles poison the native plants beneath it, along with invasive sea grapes that chew up the dunes.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Screwworm had been considered eradicated from the US, Mexico and most of Central America decades ago.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of eradicate
Noun
  • And one police chief in Washington state said that since installing Flock, his city of Lakewood has experienced a rare 15-month stretch without a homicide.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Baltimore police have arrested a man in connection with a homicide that happened on August 20.
    — Michelle Richardson, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of homicide
Verb
  • Only Hincapie’s wayward finish, a second later, ruined things.
    — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Social media now dominates millions of lives, ruining too many.
    — Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of ruin
Verb
  • Given their former friendship, war of words, iconic stature, legacies, and both being slain before their time, Shakur and Wallace’s murder cases have remained intertwined for decades.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The hero this time is samurai Miyamoto Musashi, and his job is to slay the demonic Genma that have overrun the land.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of slay
Verb
  • That means the race winner could potentially gain 75 points in a single race on another driver, and that has the potential to erase gaps very quickly.
    — Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Trump is moving to strip California’s emissions authority, end tax credits and erase electric vehicle sales mandates, reshaping the national market while leaving the state’s clean-car future tangled in Washington-level uncertainty.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of erase

Browse Nearby Words

rubicund
rubout
rub out
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Cite this Entry

“Rubout.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubout. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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