English Reference
Verb

extinguish

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/ UK /ɛkstˈɪŋɡwɪʃ/ ex·tin·guish UK spelling extinguishes Law Psychology

v.to stop a fire from burning or to end a feeling or idea completely.

v.to cause a flame or fire to cease burning; figuratively, to bring an end to a hope, feeling, or legal right.


SIMPLE

Firefighters worked for hours to extinguish the forest fire.

CONTEXTUAL

The news of the budget cuts served to extinguish any remaining hope for the project's completion.

COMPLEX

In legal contexts, a debt or obligation may be extinguished once the specific conditions of the contract have been fully satisfied by both parties.

Usage

The verb is transitive and requires a direct object.

Usage extinguish the fire

All relevant services are on site, working to extinguish the fire,” he said.

The Guardian· 20 Aug 2026

After battling blazes overnight and extinguishing them on Saturday, a second drone started another fire on Sunday, Hardan said.

The Guardian· 12 Aug 2026

Borrowed from Latin extinguo (“to put out (what is burning), quench, extinguish, deprive of life, destroy, abolish”), from ex (“out”) + stinguere (“to put out, quench, extinguish”). Doublet of extinct.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin extinguo
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Occasional
Updated