erase

Everyday

1. To rub out writing or marks, for example with a rubber or an eraser. tree →
2. To delete something completely, such as a file, message or recording. tree →
3. To remove a memory or feeling so it is forgotten or gone. tree →

In the lessons

At school you erase pencil marks or wipe the whiteboard. On computers you erase files or data. In stories, people wish they could «erase a memory» or «erase the past». The tool is an «eraser» (US) or «rubber» (UK).

Examples

• Erase the wrong answer and try again. tree →
• The teacher erased the board at the end of the lesson. tree →
• Don't erase the photos before you save them. tree →
• I erased my mistake neatly. tree →
• The rain erased the chalk drawings on the playground. tree →
• She wished she could erase that embarrassing moment. tree →
• Press this button to erase the recording. tree →
• Write in pencil so you can erase it. tree →

Note

Regular verb; drop the e: erasing, erased. Noun: eraser (US, Canada) — in the UK and Australia a «rubber» is also used, but in the US «rubber» can be rude slang, so say «eraser» there. Erased work cannot always be recovered on a computer.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: In the golem story, erasing the aleph from "emet" (truth) leaves "met" (dead), and the tradition reads this as how a creature made with letters can be undone. In the primary lessons: At school you erase pencil marks or wipe the whiteboard. On computers you erase files or data. In stories, people wish they could «erase a memory» or «erase the past». The tool is an «eraser» (US) or «rubber» (UK).

Examples

• The person created had a knife in his hand, and was erasing the letter Aleph of the word Emet. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• Then the one whom they had created said to them: 'God created Adam, and when He wanted to put him to death, he erased a letter fro7n the wind p]met and it became Met (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →

Note

Regular verb; drop the e: erasing, erased. Noun: eraser (US, Canada) — in the UK and Australia a «rubber» is also used, but in the US «rubber» can be rude slang, so say «eraser» there. Erased work cannot always be recovered on a computer.