To wipe means to clean or dry a surface by rubbing it with something like a cloth, towel, or your hand. You wipe the kitchen counter after making a sandwich, wipe your mouth with a napkin after eating spaghetti, or wipe your muddy shoes on a doormat before coming inside.

The word suggests a sweeping motion that removes something: dirt, water, crumbs, fingerprints. When you wipe a whiteboard, the eraser removes the marker. When you wipe away tears, your hand brushes them from your cheeks.

Wipe can also mean to erase or destroy something completely, especially data. If you wipe a computer's hard drive, you delete everything on it. A huge wave might wipe out a sandcastle, or a bad storm might wipe out the power in your neighborhood.

The phrase wiped out also describes extreme exhaustion. After running three miles in gym class, you might feel completely wiped out, meaning you're so tired you can barely move. A wipe (the noun) is the cloth or paper you use for wiping, like the baby wipes parents use or the disinfectant wipes you might use to clean your desk.