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

• erasability noun
• erasable adjective
• 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

He warned: “They want to dismantle capitalism. They want to erase our founding principles.”

Read more on Salon

The goal isn’t to erase conflict but to keep it from corroding the bond.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A year ago, he was being cheered by the global right for dramatically reducing inflation and erasing a 14-year budget deficit by force of severe austerity programs.

Read more on Barron's

The mood remains cautious, but the worst of the premarket declines have been erased.

Read more on Barron's

"We see a piece of the very ancient Earth, even before the giant impact. This is amazing because we would expect this very early signature to be slowly erased through Earth's evolution."

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

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