rubbing out

verb

Definition of rubbing outnext
present participle of rub out
1
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of aerial bombs rubbed out the oil refinery

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in murdering
to put to death deliberately an elaborate setup to rub out rival mobsters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in eradicating
to destroy all traces of a promise to rub out the city's drug trade

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubbing out
  1. destroying
  2. murdering
  3. erasing
  4. executing
  5. abolishing
Verb
  • The grand jury accused Whiting of misuse of public monies, theft, conflict of interest, harassment, sending a threatening letter and stealing, destroying, altering or secreting public records.
    Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Keeping the excessive usage of drones in ongoing wars in mind, the United States Army’s Apache helicopters are training to get better at destroying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) mid-flight using Hellfire missiles, among other ammunition.
    Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Erik and Lyle were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for murdering their father and mother, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989.
    Jordan Moreau, Variety, 3 Oct. 2024
  • The wife of a missing Utah National Guardsman is accused of murdering him and trying to cover up the crime.
    Liam Quinn, People.com, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of murdering
Verb
  • The response comes amid allegations that the institution was caving to Chinese pressure by erasing Tibetan cultural denominations.
    The Editors of ARTnews, ARTnews.com, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Another anecdote from the memoir that the suit alleges found its way to the stage involves sound engineer Caillat, under orders from Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, erasing a guitar take from a tape, only to have Buckingham explode in angry violence after the order is carried out.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2024
Definition of erasing
Verb
  • The company has identified weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting and is executing a remediation plan, including hiring additional staff and implementing a new ERP system.
    Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
  • Management believes that the current cash on hand is sufficient to continue executing the business plan, assuming favorable guidance from the FDA regarding additional clinical trials.
    Quartz Bot, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024
Definition of executing
Verb
  • Stein has called for abolishing student and medical debt.
    Margie Cullen, USA TODAY, 11 Oct. 2024
  • Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz endorses abolishing the Electoral College.
    Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 10 Oct. 2024
Definition of abolishing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near rubbing out

rubbing elbows (with)

rubbing out

rubbing the wrong way

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Rubbing out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rubbing%20out. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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