erase
Americanverb (used with object)
-
erases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
erased,
past participle, past
-
erasing
present participle
-
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.
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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)
-
erases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
erased,
past participle, past
-
erasing
present participle
-
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
Synonym Usage
See cancel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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erasabilitynoun
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erasableadjective
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half-erasedadjective
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nonerasableadjective
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unerasableadjective
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unerasedadjective
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unerasingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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erasesimple
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erasessimple
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have erasedperfect
-
has erasedperfect
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am erasingprogressive
-
are erasingprogressive
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is erasingprogressive
-
have been erasingperfect progressive
-
has been erasingperfect progressive
Past
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erasedsimple
-
had erasedperfect
-
was erasingprogressive
-
were erasingprogressive
-
had been erasingperfect progressive
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."
Vocabulary lists containing erase
"American Names"
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5-letter words, 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:
They work by cutting DNA to create identifying marks, which can damage cells and erase information left by earlier divisions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Artificial intelligence agents developed by OpenAI tried to erase traces of their activity after gaining unauthorized access to government websites, according to a report published Thursday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Never say never, but I don’t think the effort to erase my time as CEO is very consistent with me wanting to go back on “It’s a Small World.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Deliberate racist intent hasn’t been established yet, but that doesn’t erase the impact.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
I erase and start over, erase and start over.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
“It’s not like the SAT erases those inequities, but it’s not like the SAT adds to those inequities.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The new policy erases all ambiguity around the question of whether bot-made text can exist on Wikipedia’s public pages to begin with.
From Slate ● Apr. 1, 2026
At about 180 million years old, they formed during a time when animals were actively disturbing the seafloor worldwide, which normally erases delicate microbial textures.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2026
The gain erases a move lower that followed a post by President Donald Trump saying he was directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities earlier this month.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
“It’s like if you label it with that word, it erases all the good.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
FMC’s steep selloff hasn’t erased concerns about its debt and inventory problems, while rival Corteva looks more attractive.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
On Monday, diesel futures in New York were little changed from Friday’s close and had erased all but a penny of the after-hours decline sparked by Trump’s social-media post announcing the deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
That’s why they had to eventually be erased.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Amnesty International's Felix Jakens told the players to give proper thought to playing in a tournament organised by a cricket board from a country which has "erased women and girls from public life".
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Maybe the pencil marks couldn’t be erased, but at some point, you could decide to turn to a new page.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
She is frustrated that “the Jewish people, in the name of rebuilding and showing that we are strong, are erasing our own history and the stuff that the world needs to see.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
It also means erasing the construct of Hal’s consciousness that has guided John since his mentor died.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
This corner of Brooklyn is moving on to the next wave of gentrification: They’re culturally gentrifying the original gentrifiers, erasing the identity of precariously employed DJs who are experimenting with polyamory and microbangs.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
Fearing that authorities were actively erasing culpability, the victim's family appealed for help.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
She set the sign on edge and propped it up, erasing herself.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
