Word.ws English Dictionary

wipe the slate clean

/ˌwaɪp ðə sleɪt ˈkliːn/

wipe the slate clean verb: to make a fresh start, for example by forgetting about previous differences and disagreements.

Verb

wipe the slate clean (third-person singular simple present wipes the slate clean, present participle wiping the slate clean, simple past and past participle wiped the slate clean)

  1. (idiomatic) To make a fresh start, for example by forgetting about previous differences and disagreements.
    Antonyms:
    hold a grudge

Synonyms of wipe the slate clean

Antonyms

Forms of wipe the slate clean

third-person singular presentwipes the slate clean
present participlewiping the slate clean
past participlewiped the slate clean
pastwiped the slate clean

Questions about wipe the slate clean

What does wipe the slate clean mean?
Wipe the slate clean means to make a fresh start, for example by forgetting about previous differences and disagreements.
What part of speech is wipe the slate clean?
Wipe the slate clean is a verb.
How do you pronounce wipe the slate clean?
Wipe the slate clean is pronounced /ˌwaɪp ðə sleɪt ˈkliːn/.
What is the past tense of wipe the slate clean?
The past tense of wipe the slate clean is wiped the slate clean.

Words near wipe the slate clean in the dictionary

  1. wipe out
  2. wipe outs
  3. wipe someone's eye
  4. wipe someone's nose
  5. wipe the floor with someone
  6. wipe the slate clean
  7. wipe the smile off someone's face
  8. wipe up
  9. wipe warmer
  10. wipe warmers
  11. wipe-breech

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: wipe the slate clean (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-wipe the slate clean.ogg.

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