Synonyms

erase

American

[ih-reys] / ɪˈreɪs /

verb (used with object)

to rub or scrape out, as letters or characters written, engraved, etc.; efface.

Synonyms:

obliterate, expunge

Antonyms:

restore
to eliminate completely.

She couldn't erase the tragic scene from her memory.
to obliterate (material recorded on magnetic tape or a magnetic disk).

She erased the message.

Antonyms:

restore
to obliterate recorded material from (a magnetic tape or disk).

He accidentally erased the tape.
Computers. to remove (data) from computer storage.
to exclude, replace, or refuse to recognize (the identity, experience, or contribution of a minority group or group member).

Framing rape as a woman’s issue erases men’s accounts of sexual violence from public discourse.
Slang. to murder.

The gang had to erase him before he informed on them.

verb (used without object)

to give way to effacement readily or easily.
to obliterate characters, letters, markings, etc., from something.

erase British

/ ɪˈreɪz /

verb

to obliterate or rub out (something written, typed, etc)
(tr) to destroy all traces of; remove completely

time erases grief
to remove (a recording) from (magnetic tape)
(tr) computing to replace (data) on a storage device with characters representing an absence of data

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See cancel.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of erase

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin ērāsus (past participle of ērādere ), equivalent to ē- e- ¹ + rāsus “scraped”; see raze

Explanation

When you erase something, you eliminate or delete it, often by physically wiping it out. It's easy to erase chalk from a blackboard, but not so easy to erase graffiti from the side of a building. There are several ways to erase: you can erase a pencil mark with an eraser; you can digitally erase information on your computer or recording device; and you can figuratively erase something by removing all evidence of it. Peaceful people hope to erase war from the earth, for example — to take away every last trace of it. The Latin root eradere means "scrape out."

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Vocabulary lists containing erase

"American Names"

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After crushing the Bar Kokhba revolt in the year 135, Emperor Hadrian renamed the province Syria Palaestina, invoking the Philistines, enemies of Israel, to erase Jewish identification with the land.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

"They are trying to erase the memory of the people in this region and to erase its history," said Abdallah.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Putting his name on an ugly ballroom won’t erase this legacy of failure.

From Salon • May 20, 2026

“I can practice so that they understand me better in English, but not erase my Mexican accent.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

She massaged her forehead with her fingertips, rubbing at the worry line between her eyebrows as if she wanted to erase it.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023