blot out

verb

blotted out; blotting out; blots out

transitive verb

1

: to make obscure, insignificant, or inconsequential

2

: wipe out, destroy

Synonyms

• abolish
• annihilate
• black out
• cancel
• clean (up)
• efface
• eradicate
• erase
• expunge
• exterminate
• extirpate
• liquidate
• obliterate
• root (out)
• rub out
• snuff (out)
• stamp (out)
• sweep (away)
• wipe out

Examples of blot out in a Sentence

blotted out all evidence of tampering with the explosive device

bushes blotted out the shed from our view

Recent Examples on the Web

In the low 70s when the rest of the state was suffering through a heatwave, and the fog on several occasions rolled in cinematically, the fast wisps preceding a cottony bank that blotted out the sun. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2024

The rare event, where the moon completely blotted out the sun's disk causing a brief period of darkness in the middle of the day, was unusually accessible to millions of people. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024

The cloud of dust from the impact blotted out the sunlight, causing a dramatic die-off of plants and animals, including the dinosaurs (except for birds). —Kate Golembiewski, CNN, 4 Oct. 2024

The dust spread worldwide, blotting out sunlight and lowering temperatures for years, resulting in mass extinction. —Kate Golembiewski, CNN, 16 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

blot out

verb

1

: to make unimportant

2

: to make hard to see or invisible : hide

3

: destroy sense 1, kill