erase

[ih-reys]

verb (used with object)

erased, erasing 

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

   Synonyms: obliterate, expunge
   Antonyms: restore

2. to eliminate completely.

   She couldn't erase the tragic scene from her memory.

3. to obliterate (material recorded on magnetic tape or a magnetic disk).

   She erased the message.

   Antonyms: restore

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

   He accidentally erased the tape.

5. Computers.,  to remove (data) from computer storage.

6. 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.

7. Slang.,  to murder.

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

verb (used without object)

erased, erasing 

1. to give way to effacement readily or easily.

2. to obliterate characters, letters, markings, etc., from something.

erase

/ ɪˈreɪz /

verb

1. to obliterate or rub out (something written, typed, etc)

2. (tr) to destroy all traces of; remove completely

   time erases grief

3. to remove (a recording) from (magnetic tape)

4. (tr) computing to replace (data) on a storage device with characters representing an absence of data

Other Word Forms

• erasable adjective
• erasability noun
• half-erased adjective
• nonerasable adjective
• unerasable adjective
• unerased adjective
• unerasing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of erase¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of erase¹

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

Synonym Study

See cancel.

Example Sentences

News of the agreement triggered celebrations across Gaza, with residents exhausted by Israel’s no-holds-barred assault that had upended their lives, erased entire families and brought famine to the enclave expressing cautious hope.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In recent years, though, Europe has erased that gap—meaning the insights have to be far more granular.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

For Anisimova, the final was a chance to erase the humiliation she endured just two months ago on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The host finished out his monologue in Spanish, saying that the contributions of Latinos in the United States couldn’t be erased.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The previous signs of a tentative recovery in the sector have now been erased, Capital Economics economist Franziska Palmas said in a note to clients.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abolish 
• delete 
• eliminate 
• expunge 
• negate 
• obliterate 
• wipe out