eraser

American

[ih-rey-ser] / ɪˈreɪ sər /

noun

a device, as a piece of rubber or cloth, for erasing marks made with pen, pencil, chalk, etc.
a person or thing that erases.

eraser British

/ ɪˈreɪzə /

noun

an object, such as a piece of rubber or felt, used for erasing something written, typed, etc

a pencil eraser

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

erasers

plural

Etymology

Origin of eraser

First recorded in 1780–90; erase + -er ¹

Vocabulary lists containing eraser

List 1

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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.

See Examples For:

eraser erasers

If you have ever used a "magic eraser" sponge to scrub away scuffs on white shoes or crayon marks on a wall, you have seen how powerful these cleaners can be.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 18, 2026

The state’s prior enforcement becomes a kind of legal eraser, wiping away the injured party’s ability to seek future protection.

From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2026

I asked to borrow his eraser to remove the scuff marks from my paddle.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025

One of his favourite items is a giant eraser from 2009 - a rare item because Ziggy said he "can't find any images of them online".

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2025

I think Cinnamon was a better eraser than I. I tried.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

Motivating them are perks like erasers, finger traps, melon and egg bars and waffle parties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025

This is why RNA-methylation needs to be tightly controlled, taken care of by a set of proteins: "writers" deposit, "readers" recognize and "erasers" remove the methyl group.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2024

“We’re not going to have just human erasers just running all over the film. Our team has to play together to win football games.”

From Washington Times ● Aug. 18, 2023

The children nervously clutched their new exercise books, sharpened pencils and erasers as their new teachers welcomed them in Ukrainian on the third floor of the former factory.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2022

So she quickly put away the erasers and ran for the door.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

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