expunge

verb

ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj How to pronounce expunge (audio)
expunged; expunging

transitive verb

1
: to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion
2
: to efface completely : destroy
3
: to eliminate from one's consciousness
expunge a memory
expunger noun

Did you know?

In medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, a series of dots was used to mark mistakes or to label material that should be deleted from a text, and those deletion dots can help you remember the history of expunge. They were known as puncta delentia. The puncta part of the name derives from the Latin verb pungere, which can be translated as "to prick or sting" (and you can imagine that a scribe may have felt stung when their mistakes were so punctuated in a manuscript). Pungere is also an ancestor of expunge, as well as a parent of other dotted, pointed, or stinging terms such as punctuate, compunction, poignant, puncture, and pungent.

Examples of expunge in a Sentence

time and the weather have expunged any evidence that a thriving community once existed here
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Many of the students suing say their charges shouldn’t be held against them because they were dropped or expunged. Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 23 Apr. 2025 The Senate expunged the vote to clear the way for another vote on the bill. Michael R. Wickline, Arkansas Online, 16 Apr. 2025 Many activists use the day to highlight issues such as expunging criminal records for nonviolent cannabis offenses and ensuring equitable access to the cannabis industry for marginalized communities. Matt Rozo, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2025 Six weeks into the new administration, Wayback Machine director Graham said, the Internet Archive had cataloged some 73,000 web pages that had existed on U.S. government websites that were expunged after Trump's inauguration. Emma Bowman, NPR, 23 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for expunge

Word History

Etymology

Latin expungere to mark for deletion by dots, from ex- + pungere to prick — more at pungent

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of expunge was in 1602

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Expunge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expunge. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

expunge

verb
ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj How to pronounce expunge (audio)
expunged; expunging
: to blot or rub out : erase
expunger noun

Legal Definition

expunge

transitive verb
ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj How to pronounce expunge (audio)
expunged; expunging
: to cancel out or destroy completely
expunge the court records of an acquitted defendant
expungement noun

More from Merriam-Webster on expunge

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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