to rub lightly with or on a cloth, towel, paper, the hand, etc., in order to clean or dry the surface of:
He wiped the furniture with a damp cloth.
2.
to rub or draw (something) over a surface, as in cleaning or drying.
3.
to remove by rubbing with or on something (usually followed by away, off, out, etc.):
Wipe the dirt off your shoes. Wipe the dust from the pictures.
4.
to remove as if by rubbing (usually followed by away, off, etc.):
Wipe that smile off your face!
5.
to erase, as from existence or memory (often followed by from):
to wipe a thought from one's mind.
6.
to erase (magnetic tape, a recording, etc.).
7.
Plumbing.
to apply (solder in a semifluid state) by spreading with leather or cloth over the part to be soldered.
to form (a joint) in this manner.
8.
Machinery. (of a rotating shaft or the like) to melt the brasses of (a bearing) through friction.
9.
Australian Slang. to refuse to have anything to do with; reject; dismiss.
noun
10.
an act of wiping:
He gave a few quick wipes to the furniture.
11.
a rub, as of one thing over another.
12.
Also called wipe-off. Movies. a technique in film editing by which the projected image of a scene appears to be pushed or wiped off the screen by the image that follows.
13.
a piece of absorbent material, as of paper or cloth, used for wiping.
Slang. (in sports) to be taken out of competition by a fall, accident, collision, etc.
Slang. to intoxicate or cause to become high, especially on narcotic drugs.
19.
wipe up, to clean completely by wiping:
to wipe up the mess on the floor.
Origin
before 1000;Middle English (v.), Old Englishwīpian; cognate with Old High Germanwīfan to wind round, Gothicweipan to crown; perhaps akin to Latinvibrāre to move to and fro
Synonyms
4. erase, eradicate, banish.
British Dictionary definitions for wipe out
wipe out
verb (adverb)
1.
(transitive) to destroy completely; eradicate
2.
(transitive) (informal) to murder or kill
3.
(intransitive) to fall or jump off a surfboard or skateboard
noun
4.
an act or instance of wiping out
5.
the interference of one radio signal by another so that reception is impossible
wipe
/waɪp/
verb (transitive)
1.
to rub (a surface or object) lightly, esp with (a cloth, hand, etc), as in removing dust, water, grime, etc
2.
usually foll by off, away, from, up, etc. to remove by or as if by rubbing lightly: he wiped the dirt from his hands
3.
to eradicate or cancel (a thought, memory, etc)
4.
to erase a recording from (an audio or video tape)
5.
(Austral, informal) to abandon or reject (a person)
6.
to apply (oil, grease, etc) by wiping
7.
to form (a joint between two lead pipes) with solder or soft lead
8.
(informal) wipe the floor with someone, to defeat someone decisively
noun
9.
the act or an instance of wiping
10.
(in film editing) an effect causing the transition from one scene to the next in which the image of the first scene appears to be wiped off the screen by that of the second
Old English wīpian, related to Middle Low German wīpen, wīp bundle (of cloth), Old High German wīffa, wīfan to wind, Gothic weipan to wreathe
Word Origin and History for wipe out
wipe
v.
Old English wipan, from Proto-Germanic *wipanan (cf. Danish vippe, Middle Dutch, Dutch vippen, Old High German wifan "to swing"), from PIE *weip- "to turn, vacillate, tremble" (cf. Latin vibrare "to shake;" see vibrate).
n.
"disposable absorbent tissue," 1971, from wipe (v.).
wipeout
n.
1962, American English, surfer slang, from wipe (v.) + out. Sense of "destruction, defeat, a killing" is recorded from 1968.
Slang definitions & phrases for wipe out
wipe out
verb phrase
To lose control of the surfboard during a ride and be thrown off into the water: About six of them wiped out on one big wave(1960s+ Surfers)
wipe
noun
A killing, murder
wipeout
noun
A fall from the surfboard, esp a spectacular one (1960s+ Surfers)
(also wipe) A killing, esp a gangland execution; rubout: I don't know a goddam thing about this goddam Covino wipe(1925+)
Idioms and Phrases with wipe out
wipe out
.
Destroy, as in The large chains are wiping out the independent bookstores. Originally put simply as wipe, the idiom acquired out in the first half of the 1800s.
.
Kill; also, murder. For example, The entire crew was wiped out in the plane crash, or The gangsters threatened to wipe him and his family out. [ Late 1800s ]