erase

American  

[ih-rays] / ɪˈreɪs /

verb (used with object)

• erases,
  present (3rd person singular)
• erased,
  past participle,  past
• erasing
  present participle

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)

• erases,
  present (3rd person singular)
• erased,
  past participle,  past
• erasing
  present participle

1. to give way to effacement readily or easily.

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

erase British  

/ 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

---

Synonym Usage

See cancel.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• erasing
  present
• erased
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• erase
  simple
• erases
  simple
• have erased
  perfect
• has erased
  perfect
• am erasing
  progressive
• are erasing
  progressive
• is erasing
  progressive
• have been erasing
  perfect progressive
• has been erasing
  perfect progressive

Past

• erased
  simple
• had erased
  perfect
• was erasing
  progressive
• were erasing
  progressive
• had been erasing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will erase
  simple
• will have erased
  perfect
• will be erasing
  progressive
• will have been erasing
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

erase erases erased erasing

By naming the product of two mergers Skydance, David Ellison relegates two of Hollywood’s founding studios to a sub-brand stew and attempts to erase a bunch of controversial hires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 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

"I've tried to kind of erase a lot of 2018 and what happened," he added.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The merger also could erase $79 million in tax revenue to Los Angeles County even if Paramount stays in L.A., she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

It was easier to change the name on the front door than it was to erase all the old feelings of being inside.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

But more than that, it obscures the reality and erases the history of transgender lives by diminishing the significant time, money, and effort many transgender people spend to align their body with their sex.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Sandisk erases early gains after closing the previous session up 9.1%.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

The three singers at least remember the name of the “Men in Black” device that erases your memory: The Neuralyzer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 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

And with the press of a button she erases his fear.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

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

For example, Jason Galanis, who pled guilty to defrauding the Oglala Sioux Nation, had paid just over $2 million of his $80 million restitution before his sentence was commuted and the restitution erased in 2025.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

That process erased the physical structures that could have revealed what those bodies originally contained.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

Snell gave up one hit, a single to Sal Stewart, which he quickly erased with a successful pick-off that caught Stewart in an inning-ending run-down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Every other company emblem indicating the ship was meant to be a luxury liner has been erased.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

The Green Bay Packers also triumphed in overtime by erasing a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the New York Jets to win 20-17 - and snap a six-game losing streak.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Henry Ford dreamed of erasing the boundary between farm and factory.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

If you haven’t been following the controversy, Wilson felt that Nolan had flattened the saga by mostly erasing the Greek gods and Odysseus’ wit, lust and thorny contradictions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

By erasing history, the state institutionalized moral hazard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

He enjoyed saying something and then erasing it.

From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg

Related Words

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