Wiped out
Meaning
To be completely destroyed, eliminated, or utterly exhausted.
Origin
Imagine a slate, perfectly clean, then scribbled over, only to be entirely "wiped out" with a cloth, leaving no trace. That raw image of total erasure is at the heart of "wiped out." While the verb 'to wipe' has ancient roots, the intensified 'out' pushed it towards complete obliteration. Its potent, modern meaning truly solidified in the 20th century, a time of unprecedented global conflicts and natural disasters, where entire cities or ecosystems could be "wiped out" in an instant. This dramatic sense of total destruction soon extended to the human body and mind, giving us our powerful shorthand for utter exhaustion – a feeling like every last spark of energy has been meticulously rubbed away.
Examples
- The sudden storm quickly wiped out several small fishing villages along the coast.
- After a week of intense training, the athletes were completely wiped out.