erase

American  

[ih-reys] / ɪˈreɪs /

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.

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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 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

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Related Words

See cancel.

Other Word Forms

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

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

This abrasive quality is what allows the sponge to "erase" stains.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026

He said the deal doesn’t erase cost-of-living concerns.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Exhibitors in particular fear that a decline in film releases will erase some of the progress made at the box office since the pandemic.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

In pursuit of aesthetic purity, these designs erase any trace of human labor or the complex mechanisms beneath the surface.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026

I don’t tell her about the memories I want to erase.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

Related Words

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