blot out

Idioms and Phrases

Obliterate, wipe out of existence or memory, as in At least one Indian nation was blotted out as the pioneers moved west , or The trauma of the accident blotted out all her memory of recent events . This idiom, first recorded in 1516, uses the verb to blot in the sense of making something illegible by spotting or staining it with ink. The New Testament has it (Acts 3:19): “Repent ye ... that your sins may be blotted out.”

Example Sentences

Foster lamented that the "dark cloud" that is Trump has blotted out what should be a moment "historic to women and girls" of the Harris candidacy.

From Salon

In a later bid to blot out those memories, the Yankees leveled that stadium and built another one across the street.

From Los Angeles Times

Will it be a fiery landscape where sizzling sidewalks cause second-degree burns, wildfire smoke blots out the sun, and water flows only sometimes, and mostly not at all?

From Los Angeles Times

And few things generate awe like watching the moon blot out the sun and plunge a sunny day into erie darkness.

From Los Angeles Times

In the path of totality, as the moon blots out the sun, it will create a spot-shaped shadow that will race eastward as the sun moves westward in the sky.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• consume
• crush
• damage
• dismantle
• end
• eradicate
• gut
• impair
• kill
• maim
• ravage
• raze
• ruin
• sabotage
• shatter
• smash
• smash-up
• wipe out
• wreck