wipe (someone or something) off the face of the earth

wipe (someone or something) off the face of the earth

To totally eliminate, eradicate, or destroy someone or something. The president vowed to wipe these terrorist scumbags off the face of the earth. Through our vaccination efforts, we've been able to wipe polio off the face of the earth.See also: earth, face, of, off, wipe

wipe someone or something off the face of the earth

Fig. to demolish every trace of someone or something. A great storm will come and wipe all the people off the face of the earth. The wind blew my old barn off the face of the earth! Nothing was left.See also: earth, face, of, off, wipe

wipe something off the ˌface of the ˈearth

(also wipe something off the ˈmap) completely destroy something: If a meteor hit us, whole cities would be wiped off the face of the earth. ♢ The fall in prices wiped a lot of small businesses off the map.See also: earth, face, of, off, something, wipe