erase

English

Etymology

From Latin erasus, past participle of eradere (“to scrape, to abrade”), from ex- (“out of”) + radere (“to scrape”)

Pronunciation

• (RP) enPR: ĭ-rāzʹ, IPA: /ɪˈɹeɪz/, SAMPA: /I"r\eIz/
• (US) enPR: ĭ-rāsʹ, IPA: /ɪˈɹeɪs/, SAMPA: /I"r\eIs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪs, -eɪz

Verb

erase (third-person singular simple present erases, present participle erasing, simple past and past participle erased)

1. (transitive) to remove markings or information

   I erased that note because it was wrong.

2. (transitive) To obliterate information from (a storage medium), such as to clear or (with magnetic storage) to demagnetize.

   I'm going to erase this tape.

3. (transitive) To obliterate (information) from a storage medium, such as to clear or to overwrite.

   I'm going to erase those files.

4. (transitive, baseball) To remove a runner from the bases via a double play or pick off play

   Jones was erased by a 6-4-3 double play.

5. (intransitive) To be erased (have markings removed, have information removed, or be cleared of information).

   The chalkboard erased easily.

   Her painful memories seemingly erased completely.

   The files will erase quickly.

Derived terms

• eraser
• unerase

Related terms

• erasure

Translations

to remove markings or information

Bulgarian: изтривам (bg), изличавам (bg) Czech: smazat (cs) French: effacer (fr) Ido: efacar Kurdish: Central Kurdish: سڕین (ku) (sReen)

Romanian: șterge (ro) Scottish Gaelic: dubh às (gd) Spanish: borrar (es) Tagalog: bura (tl) Telugu: తుడిచివేయు (tuDichivaeyu) Volapük: radön (vo)

Anagrams

• eares, easer

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Italian

Verb

erase

1. third-person singular past historic of eradere

erase f.

1. Plural of eraso

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Latin

Participle

ērāse

1. vocative masculine singular of ērāsus