Eraser Definition: Meaning, Usage in Sentences, and Quiz

Look at how native speakers typically implement this word every day. Read these sentences and define an “eraser” based on a given context.

There are not so many “eraser” synonyms, but still it is worth remembering them to become more fluent and expand your vocabulary as a result.

Related nouns: pen pencil book notebook ruler

Synonyms (contextual): rubber

Common collocations: pencil eraser worn eraser

To provide an “eraser” description, you need to understand how to combine this word with other parts of speech like nouns, adjectives and verbs.

With adjectives: pink eraser white eraser soft eraser kneaded eraser

With verbs: use an eraser need an eraser buy erasers share your eraser

With nouns (noun + noun): eraser dust eraser shavings new eraser art eraser

“Eraser” in English is not a super popular word if we talk about idiomatic terms. But still, you can see it in some phrases and collocations where the main idea is far behind a typical description of this item.

• An eraser for regrets — a wish to undo past mistakes.

  Time became an eraser for his regrets, softening feelings that once seemed permanent.

• No one is perfect, that’s why pencils have erasers — a saying that reminds us mistakes are normal and meant to be corrected.

  After Tom misspelled her name, she smiled and said, “No one is perfect; that’s why pencils have erasers.”

• An eraser leaves dust behind — even corrections have traces.

  Sarah fixed the error in the report, but the confusion it caused proved that an eraser leaves dust behind.

Take this quick quiz in order to evaluate your understanding of the  description of an “eraser.” Test how well you comprehend all the vocabulary and can operate with it in real situations.

Discover how to spell “eraser” and properly pronounce it in other popular languages like French, German and Spanish.

The history of “erasers” shows their development through various innovative changes which will prove all your earlier beliefs about these basic correction tools to be false.

• Erasers were invented by accident.

  British engineer Edward Nairne invented the rubber eraser in 1770 by accidentally picking up a piece of rubber instead of bread (which people used to erase pencil marks). He discovered that rubber worked far better, transforming the way people corrected writing errors.

• The pink eraser color is just dye.

  The classic pink color is simply dye added to make erasers look appealing. Early rubber erasers were typically gray or tan. The Eberhard Faber Pencil Company made pink dye a standard American color in 1916.

• Pencil erasers on top weren’t always there.

  The metal band that attaches an eraser to a pencil was patented in 1858 by Hymen Lipman (though the patent was later invalidated). Many artists still prefer separate erasers because pencil-top erasers are often lower quality.

• Kneaded erasers never wear out.

  Kneaded erasers, sold in art supply stores, can be shaped by hand and work differently from regular erasers. Kneaded erasers absorb graphite instead of creating dust, and with proper care, they can last a very long time.

• Erasers don’t actually remove graphite.

  Erasers work because they are more adhesive than paper, so graphite transfers from the paper onto the eraser when you rub it. The “eraser dust” you brush away is actually tiny eraser particles mixed with transferred graphite.

These quotations use simple drawing tools as metaphors for choice, emotion and responsibility, showing how creation is inseparable from risk.