snuff out

English

Verb

snuff out (third-person singular simple present snuffs out, present participle snuffing out, simple past and past participle snuffed out)

  1. (transitive) To extinguish (literally, especially by physically covering or rubbing); to extinguish (figuratively): to stop (a process), to kill (a process).
    Hypernyms: put out, outen
    Coordinate terms: blow out, douse, quench
    Near-synonym: smother
    The risk of fire was an ever-present danger, and every night at bedtime they performed the ritual of checking that every candle and lantern had been snuffed out.
    He sighed, snuffed out his cigarette, and got back to work.
    He sighed, snuffed out his wish to walk right out the door, and got back to work.
    • 2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC‎[1]:
      Elmander's lovely flick nearly set Taylor free inside the box but, this time, Boswinga reacted well to snuff out any real danger.
    • 2017 August 25, Aukkarapon Niyomyat & Panarat Thepgumpanat, "Thai junta seeks Yingluck's arrest as former PM skips court verdict", in reuters.com, Reuters
      The verdict against Yingluck is widely seen as having the potential to reignite tensions, though the junta has largely snuffed out open opposition.
  2. (slang, transitive) To kill a living being.
    Synonyms: rub out; see also Thesaurus:kill
    He sighed, stifled his urge to snuff out the moron who designed this work process, and got back to work.

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See also

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