erase

8 definitions • 14 examples

to remove something, especially a pencil mark by rubbing it:

It's in pencil so you can just erase anything that's wrong.

to remove recordings or information from a magnetic tape or disk:

A virus erased my hard disk.

to cause a feeling, memory, or period of time to be completely forgotten:

erase the memory of He is determined to erase the memory of a disappointing debut two years ago.

erase doubts Woods wants a convincing victory to erase doubts about his team's ability to reach the World Cup finals.

One election cannot erase 65 years of a corrupt one-party political process.

to remove or destroy something, especially something that shows that that person or thing ever existed or happened:

The president said NATO expansion would finally erase the boundary line in Europe artificially created by the Cold War.

Years of hard living had blurred but not erased her girlhood beauty.

He was a man of mystery - erased from the history books.

to destroy or remove something completely:

A subdirectory filled with precious data can be erased if you are not careful.

to remove something written or a mark by rubbing:

I kept changing my mind and erasing my answers on the test.

to cancel the effect of an increase or fall in something such as an amount of debt, the price of shares, etc.:

erase a deficit/debt/loss To erase the budget deficit through cuts alone would mean extreme measures such as shutting prisons and college campuses.

erase a profit/gain

to remove information or data from the place where it was stored:

erase sth from sth Fraudulent accounts had been erased from the records.

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