rub out
verb
rubbed out; rubbing out; rubs out
transitive verb
1
: to obliterate by or as if by rubbing
2
: to destroy completely
specifically : kill, murder
somebody rubbed him out … with a twenty-two 
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler rubout
ˈrəb-ˌau̇t 
noun 
Synonyms
- annihilate
- cream
- decimate
- demolish
- desolate
- destroy
- devastate
- do in
- extinguish
- nuke
- pull down
- pulverize
- raze
- ruin
- shatter
- smash
- tear down
- total
- vaporize
- waste
- wrack
- wreck
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
aerial bombs rubbed out the oil refinery an elaborate setup to rub out rival mobsters
Recent Examples on the Web The resort can arrange a local masseuse to rub out all that daring inside the comfort of your cabin. Rina Nehdar, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2022 The man, Eric Charles Maund, whose family runs Volkswagen and Toyota dealerships in and around Austin, is alleged to have hired the trio to rub out Holly Williams, 33, and William Lanway, 36, in March 2020, police and prosecutors said. NBC News, 13 Dec. 2021 His mission, ostensibly, is to retrieve the sword and rub out Akemi, who’s just turned 21 and unknowingly inherited the Kawa crime family empire. Richard Kuipers, Variety, 30 Aug. 2021 For at-home maintenance, Away (which doesn’t cover superficial markings under warranty), recommends using a Magic Eraser sponge to rub out scuffs and scratches, while Rimowa suggests using isopropyl alcohol as a cleaning and restoring agent. Laura Neilson, WSJ, 18 Mar. 2021 Robby Fabbri put in a hard shift to set up the goal; Nikita Zadorov tried to rub out Fabbri along the boards, but Fabbri refused to be denied space. Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2021 Exotic has served a year of his more than 20-year sentence for attempting to hire a hitman to rub out Baskin. Ben Feuerherd, Fox News, 21 Jan. 2021 Use a dry erase marker instead of a Sharpie when designing to easily rub out any mistakes or errant marks. Beth Segal, cleveland, 15 Oct. 2020 An extensive torture campaign has been documented by human rights workers, intended to rub out any sense of disloyalty from the military. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 21 Jan. 2020 See More
Rina Nehdar, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2022 The man, Eric Charles Maund, whose family runs Volkswagen and Toyota dealerships in and around Austin, is alleged to have hired the trio to rub out Holly Williams, 33, and William Lanway, 36, in March 2020, police and prosecutors said. NBC News, 13 Dec. 2021 His mission, ostensibly, is to retrieve the sword and rub out Akemi, who’s just turned 21 and unknowingly inherited the Kawa crime family empire. Richard Kuipers, Variety, 30 Aug. 2021 For at-home maintenance, Away (which doesn’t cover superficial markings under warranty), recommends using a Magic Eraser sponge to rub out scuffs and scratches, while Rimowa suggests using isopropyl alcohol as a cleaning and restoring agent. Laura Neilson, WSJ, 18 Mar. 2021 Robby Fabbri put in a hard shift to set up the goal; Nikita Zadorov tried to rub out Fabbri along the boards, but Fabbri refused to be denied space. Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2021 Exotic has served a year of his more than 20-year sentence for attempting to hire a hitman to rub out Baskin. Ben Feuerherd, Fox News, 21 Jan. 2021 Use a dry erase marker instead of a Sharpie when designing to easily rub out any mistakes or errant marks. Beth Segal, cleveland, 15 Oct. 2020 An extensive torture campaign has been documented by human rights workers, intended to rub out any sense of disloyalty from the military. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 21 Jan. 2020 See More Word History
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
rubs out
verb
1
as in destroys
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of aerial bombs rubbed out the oil refinery Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- destroys
- ruins
- demolishes
- wrecks
- shatters
- tears down
- devastates
- damages
- smashes
- pulls down
- overcomes
- wastes
- does in
- vaporizes
- mars
- erodes
- totals
- ravages
- pulverizes
- annihilates
- extinguishes
- creams
- desolates
- wracks
- razes
- nukes
- decimates
- breaks
- cripples
- overbears
- wipes out
- kills
- defeats
- washes out
- blows up
- blasts
- blots out
- removes
- crushes
- overmatches
- takes down
- cuts down
- dismantles
- licks
- masters
- spoils
- subdues
- injures
- deteriorates
- disintegrates
- triumphs (over)
- trims
- conquers
- surmounts
- harms
- dissolves
- prevails (over)
- kills off
- wins (against)
- dilapidates
- whips
- unbuilds
- takes out
- impairs
- clobbers
- scotches
- beats
- bests
- routs
- skunks
- wallops
- mutilates
- guts
- thrashes
- disfigures
- drubs
- vitiates
- eradicates
- sacks
- sweeps (away)
- wears (away)
- dynamites
- undoes
- mows (down)
- mangles
- defaces
- snuffs (out)
- obliterates
- assassinates
- scours
- trounces
- murders
- slaughters
- disassembles
- expunges
- plunders
- executes
- liquidates
- dispatches
- loots
- unmakes
- slays
- havocs
- despoils
- exterminates
- effaces
- zaps
- massacres
- extirpates
- tramples
- butchers
- stamps (out)
- vandalizes
- pillages
- trashes
- roots (out)
- fells
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- builds
- raises
- repairs
- constructs
- creates
- sets up
- doctors
- brings about
- fixes
- erects
- produces
- rears
- makes
- forms
- shapes
- manufactures
- puts up
- constitutes
- mends
- fathers
- establishes
- frames
- institutes
- protects
- invents
- assembles
- patches
- fashions
- organizes
- molds
- preserves
- saves
- forges
- reconditions
- revamps
- founds
- fabricates
- conserves
- restores
- rebuilds
- reconstructs
- renovates
- remodels
2
as in murders
to put to death deliberately an elaborate setup to rub out rival mobsters Synonyms & Similar Words
- murders
- assassinates
- knocks off
- slays
- executes
- takes out
- bumps off
- puts away
- kills
- dispatches
- neutralizes
- gets
- does in
- blows away
- cuts down
- blots out
- shoots down
- offs
- whacks
- snuffs
- liquidates
- shoots
- terminates
- destroys
- ices
- croaks
- slaughters
- carries off
- wipes out
- does away with
- claims
- mows (down)
- zaps
- eliminates
- butchers
- massacres
- fells
- smites
- eradicates
- annihilates
- exterminates
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- raises
- revives
- restores
- animates
- resurrects
- resuscitates
3
as in eradicates
to destroy all traces of a promise to rub out the city's drug trade Synonyms & Similar Words
- eradicates
- erases
- wipes out
- blots out
- blacks out
- abolishes
- destroys
- extirpates
- obliterates
- expunges
- tears down
- sweeps (away)
- snuffs (out)
- cancels
- annihilates
- cleans (up)
- exterminates
- effaces
- liquidates
- stamps (out)
- shatters
- ravages
- demolishes
- ruins
- roots (out)
- kills
- kills off
- mows (down)
- blows up
- wastes
- fragments
- throws out
- dismantles
- discards
- consumes
- wrecks
- flattens
- decimates
- devastates
- totals
- dissolves
- razes
- splinters
- dashes
- powders
- smashes
- finishes
- pulverizes
- zaps
- blasts
- atomizes
- dynamites
- ejects
- ditches
- expels
- devours
- excises
- dooms
- jettisons
- terminates
- cuts
- ousts
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- protects
- saves
- preserves
- builds
- creates
- shapes
- forms
- makes
- constructs
- conserves
- manufactures
- repairs
- frames
- fixes
- fashions
- forges
- restores
- renews
- reconstructs
- rebuilds
- patches
- fabricates
- reconditions
- renovates
- revamps
- mends