wiping

v. rubbing a surface with a cloth or your hand to make it clean or dry.

v. the act of rubbing a surface with pressure, typically using a cloth or absorbent material, to remove moisture, dirt, or unwanted substances.

“She spent the morning wiping the kitchen counters until they were spotless.”

“Wiping the condensation from the windshield proved difficult until the car's internal heating system finally began to circulate warm air.”

v. deleting all the information from a computer, phone, or hard drive.

v. the process of completely erasing digital information from a storage medium so that it cannot be recovered.

“Before selling your old phone, you should finish wiping all your personal data.”

“The IT department recommended wiping the hard drives of all decommissioned laptops to ensure that sensitive corporate intelligence remained secure.”

n. the physical act of cleaning something by rubbing it once or twice.

n. a single instance or the continuous action of rubbing a surface for cleaning or drying purposes.

“The table only needs a quick wiping to get rid of the dust.”

“A thorough wiping of the laboratory equipment is mandatory after every experiment to prevent cross-contamination between chemical samples.”

n. a situation where one side is beaten very badly in a game or fight.

n. a decisive or humiliating defeat in a physical confrontation or competitive context.

“Our team suffered a real wiping in the finals last night.”

“After the unexpected wiping they received in the first round, the champions had to completely rethink their defensive strategy for the remainder of the season.”

Slang · Informal