expunge
Americanverb (used with object)
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to strike or blot out; erase; obliterate.
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to efface; wipe out or destroy.
verb
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to delete or erase; blot out; obliterate
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to wipe out or destroy
Usage
What does expunge mean? Expunge means to erase, delete, cross out, or destroy.Expunge is especially used in the context of law, in which it means to remove an arrest or conviction from a person’s public criminal record.A record that has been altered in this way can be described as expunged. The process of expunging can be called expungement or expunction.Example: Many criminal justice reform advocates support the law, which would expand the range of offenses that could be expunged from criminal records.
Other Word Forms
- expunction noun
- expunger noun
- unexpunged adjective
Etymology
Origin of expunge
1595–1605; < Latin expungere to blot out, erase, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + pungere to prick
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, together, Russia and Iran are responsible for over 11% of the world’s oil production, meaning that expunging them from the global oil trade would be challenging.
He estimated that about 2,700 people could potentially benefit from the law by either being released from prison or having criminal charges expunged.
Older videos from dashboard cameras that are still stored on magnetic videotape would also be expunged, he said.
From Los Angeles Times
Inside the trailer, people can learn how to expunge their records and handle eviction cases, along with more general civic lessons about due process.
From Los Angeles Times
So there is no clear legal definition of who belongs on these rosters, let alone guidance on how long officers must remain on these lists or how they can seek to have their names expunged.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
