Rubout

noun, slang

noun, slang ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An instance of erasing with a rubber.
  2. 2
    An assassination. broadly, slang

    "This high-concept take on low life includes a concealed lethal weapon (by Claire Fontaine); photographic evidence of a rubout (by Torbjorn Rodland); and cryptic, possibly sinister messages galore from Tauba Auerbach, Daniel Knorr, David Lieske and Matias Faldbakken."

  3. 3
    Synonym of backspace. broadly, dated, uncountable

    "A direct manipulation editor would support, for example, a single rubout key that uses the cursor to find the appropriate character for deletion […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms
backspace

Example

More examples

"This high-concept take on low life includes a concealed lethal weapon (by Claire Fontaine); photographic evidence of a rubout (by Torbjorn Rodland); and cryptic, possibly sinister messages galore from Tauba Auerbach, Daniel Knorr, David Lieske and Matias Faldbakken."

Etymology

Deverbal from rub out.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.