blot out

Idioms  

1. 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.”

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Example Sentences

But in voters’ minds the bad news seems to blot out the good, and when pollsters ask if his age is an issue most say yes.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2023

As the moon lines up precisely between Earth and the sun, it will blot out all but the sun’s outer rim.

From Washington Times • Oct. 10, 2023

The smoke was starting to blot out the sun.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 14, 2023

Every time I come into the kitchen, I find a few coffee grounds to sponge up here, or a dried-up splatter of last night's red sauce to blot out there.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2023

The amount of soot and floating ash from the impact and following fires would blot out the sun, certainly for months, possibly for years, disrupting growing cycles.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

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