What does wipeout mean?
Wipeout is an informal word for a complete and often dramatic failure. As a noun, it can describe the destruction of a place, an organization, or a set of circumstances: a storm may cause a wipeout, or a sports team may suffer one. It can also name a crash or fall in which someone is thrown from a surfboard, skateboard, or motorcycle. As a verb, wipe out means to destroy, obliterate, or eliminate something, and it may describe a person failing or being knocked out. The expression is especially common in American and British informal English and often carries a stronger, more vivid implication than words such as failure or damage. Its imagery conveys suddenness and incompleteness of recovery, making it useful for describing disasters, defeats, and the loss of opportunities.
Complete destruction, ruin, or failure; also a fall from a surfboard or similar board.
"The fire was followed by a complete wipeout of the businesses on the street."
Informal and emphatic; often implies a sudden and total disaster.
To destroy, obliterate, or eliminate completely; also to fail or be knocked out in an accident.
"The error wiped out their advantage in the final minutes."
Usually used in informal English and commonly written as the phrasal verb “wipe out.”
Used for separate complete failures or disasters, and for separate falls from a board.
"The series of wipeouts left the competition in chaos."
Born in the world of surfing, wipeout grew into a vivid shorthand for any total disaster—from a wipeout on the board to a wipeout of a team’s hopes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does wipeout come from?
Wipeout is an English compound formed from wipe and out. The term developed in the mid-20th century, initially especially in surfing, where it referred to a fall in which the surfer was thrown from the board. It was later extended to mean total destruction, failure, or disaster.
How wipeout is actually used
Informal and emphatic rather than formal. In its noun sense it often suggests sudden, dramatic, and complete devastation; in its verb sense it is commonly written as the phrasal verb “wipe out.”
Easily confused with wipeout
A wipeout means complete destruction or failure, whereas a whiteout is a condition in which snow, fog, or bright glare makes it difficult to see.