erase
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to rub or scrape out, as letters or characters written, engraved, etc.; efface.
- Synonyms:
- obliterate, expunge
- Antonyms:
- restore
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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.
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Computers. to remove (data) from computer storage.
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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.
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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.
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
Related Words
See cancel.
Other Word Forms
- erasability noun
- erasable adjective
- half-erased adjective
- nonerasable adjective
- unerasable adjective
- unerased adjective
- unerasing adjective
Etymology
Origin of erase
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin ērāsus (past participle of ērādere ), equivalent to ē- e- 1 + rāsus “scraped”; raze
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.
Over a simple acoustic backing, he reminisces about "smokey bars and cheap guitars", observing that while Liverpool is always changing, "nothing can erase the days we left behind".
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
Stocks in Europe and Asia—two regions that rely heavily on oil and gas from the Middle East—fell, with the Stoxx Europe 600 on pace to erase its gains for the year so far.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
"Distance may separate our people, but it does not erase identity," Opoku-Agyemang said.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
In most cases, the next debris flow would erase the mat, but occasionally the structure becomes buried and preserved.
From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2026
I want to be sure that on a moment’s notice, I can erase what I’ve written.
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
