definitions

erase

[ ih-reys ]
/ ɪˈreɪs /
|

verb (used with object), e·rased, e·ras·ing.

verb (used without object), e·rased, e·ras·ing.

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

RELATED CONTENT

Perfect Quotes To Inspire Your Dinner ConversationStuck for small talk? Take some advice from these famous authors and spice up your conversation.
READ MORE
Why Is “Bisexual” Such A Charged Word In 2019?As the language around gender and sexuality broadens, what it means to be bisexual broadens, too—making it all the more important to attend to the health needs and outcomes for a growing population that is often overlooked when we talk about the LGBTQ community as a whole.
READ MORE

Nearby words

er rif, era, eradiate, eradicable, eradicate, erase, eraser, erasing head, erasion, erasistratus, erasmian

Origin of erase

1595–1605; < Latin ērāsus (past participle of ērādere), equivalent to ē- e-1 + rāsus scraped; see raze

SYNONYMS FOR erase

1 expunge, obliterate.

ANTONYMS FOR erase

1, 3 restore.

Related forms

Can be confused

erasable irascible

Synonym study

1. See cancel.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for erasable

erase

/ (ɪˈreɪz) /

verb

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

Derived Forms

erasable, adjective

Word Origin for erase

C17: from Latin ērādere to scrape off, from ex- 1 + rādere to scratch, scrape
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