snuff out
1. To extinguish something, especially a flame. A noun or pronoun can be used between "snuff" and "out." She snuffed the flame of the candle out between her fingers. The system uses halon gas to snuff out fire before it has a chance to spread.
2. To put a sudden and conclusive end to something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "snuff" and "out." That loss snuffs out their chances of making it to the playoffs.
3. To kill someone. A noun or pronoun can be used between "snuff" and "out." He was planning on going to the police, but the criminals snuffed him out before he had the chance. Tragically, he was snuffed out in his prime by cancer.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.