erase

verb, noun — 8 senses

erase

verb

CA, US /ɪˈɹeɪs/ · AU, UK /ɪˈɹeɪz/

Etymology From Latin erasus, past participle of eradere (“to scrape, to abrade”), from ex- (“out of”) + radere (“to scrape”). Compare Middle English arasen, aracen (“to eradicate, erase”). Displaced native Old English dilegian.

7 senses
  1. 1To remove (markings or information).
  2. 2To obliterate information from (a storage medium), such…
  3. 3To obliterate (information) from a storage medium, such…
  4. 4To remove a runner from the bases via a double play or…
  5. 5To be erased (have markings removed, have information…
  6. 6To disregard (a group, an orientation, etc.); to prevent…
  7. 7To kill; assassinate.
1

To remove (markings or information).

  • I erased that word from the page because it was wrong.
2

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

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

  • I'm going to erase those files.
4

Ball games, Baseball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports 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.
  • C.J. Henderson has the speed and anticipation to erase receivers all over the field, and his athleticism is absurd; according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Henderson bench presses 380 pounds and squats 545.2020 April 23, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Apr 2020:
5

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

  • The chalkboard erased easily.
  • The files will erase quickly.
6

To disregard (a group, an orientation, etc.); to prevent from having an active role in society.

  • I suggest, then, that counterdiscourses, when reductive, tend to emulate the screen discourse that erases gay sociality.1998, Janice Lynn Ristock, Catherine Taylor, Inside the academy and out:
  • As a result, Palestinians are hyperpresent in Israeli media, while Mizrahim are erased from public discourse.2004, Daniel Lefkowitz, Words and Stones, page 209:
1 more example
  • Silence around Native sexuality benefits the colonizers and erases queer Native people from their communities.2011, Qwo-Li Driskill, Queer Indigenous Studies, page 40:
7

Slang To kill; assassinate.

Antonyms
record
Derived terms
dry-erase, erasability, erasable, erased, erasement, eraser, nonerasing, unerasable, unerase
Related terms
erasure

erase

noun

Etymology From Latin erasus, past participle of eradere (“to scrape, to abrade”), from ex- (“out of”) + radere (“to scrape”). Compare Middle English arasen, aracen (“to eradicate, erase”). Displaced native Old English dilegian.

1

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences The operation of deleting data.

  • This subsystem is waiting to become Exclusive after having issued an erase.2000, Mark D. Hill, Norman P. Jouppi, Gurindar S. Sohi, Readings in Computer Architecture, page 603:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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