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erase

 - 6 dictionary results

e⋅rase

  [i-reys] verb, e⋅rased, e⋅ras⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to rub or scrape out, as letters or characters written, engraved, etc.; efface.
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.
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. Slang. to murder: The gang had to erase him before he informed on them.
–verb (used without object)
7. to give way to effacement readily or easily.
8. to obliterate characters, letters, markings, etc., from something.
Use erase in a Sentence
Origin:
1595–1605; < L ērāsus (ptp. of ērādere), equiv. to ē- e- + rāsus scraped; see raze

Related forms:
e⋅ras⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
e⋅ras⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
1. expunge, obliterate. See cancel.

Antonyms:
1, 3. restore.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To erase
e·rase   (ĭ-rās')   
tr.v.   e·rased, e·ras·ing, e·ras·es

    1. To remove (something written, for example) by rubbing, wiping, or scraping.

    2. To remove (recorded material) from a magnetic tape or other storage medium: erased a file from the diskette.

    3. To remove recorded material from (a magnetic tape or disk, for example): erased the videocassette.

  2. To remove all traces of.

  3. To remove or destroy as if by wiping out: had to erase all thoughts of failure from his mind.


[Latin ērādere, ērās-, to scratch out : ē-, ex-, ex- + rādere, to scrape; see rēd- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to remove or invalidate something, especially something stored, recorded, or written down. To erase is to wipe or rub out, literally or figuratively: erased the equation from the blackboard; erased any hope of success.
Expunge and efface imply thorough removal: expunged their names from the list; tried to efface prejudice from his mind.
To delete is to remove matter from a manuscript or data from a computer application: deleted expletives from the transcript; deleted the file with one keystroke.
Cancel refers to invalidating by or as if by drawing lines through something written: canceled the postage stamp; canceled the reservation.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
erase

  1. tv.
    to kill someone. : Mr. Gutman decided who was gonna erase who.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

erase 
1605, from L. erasus, pp. of eradere "scrape out," from ex- "out" + radere "to scrape" (see raze). Of magnetic tape, from 1945. Eraser "thing that erases writing" is 1790, in Amer.Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: erase
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: erased; eras·ing
: to seal and protect (criminal records) from disclosure
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Computing Dictionary

erase
delete

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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