The operation of deleting data.
"The technician used a specialized software command to erase all sensitive files from the damaged hard drive before returning it to the client."
In plain English: An erase is not actually used as a noun; it is only an action meaning to remove something so it no longer exists or can be seen.
"The final chapter served as an erase to their long history together, leaving no trace behind."
to remove markings or information
"She used an eraser to remove the pencil marks from her sketchbook page."
In plain English: To erase something means to remove it completely so that nothing is left behind.
"He erased his name from the list with a single stroke."
The word "erase" comes from the Latin erasus, meaning something that has been scraped away or abraded off a surface. It entered English to replace an older Germanic term for doing the same thing.