expunge

verb

ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj 

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—known as puncta delentia—can help you remember the history of expunge. Puncta comes 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.

Synonyms of expunge

• erase
• eradicate
• abolish
• destroy

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

There is no longer any public trace of Helton’s criminal case in the Ohio county court system; certain nonviolent cases are allowed to be sealed or expunged after a set amount of time has passed. — Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 16 July 2026

Have you been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime, had an adjudication withheld or had a matter sealed or expunged? — Stephen V. Iacullo, Sun Sentinel, 16 July 2026

These charges were so baseless that the Cook County State’s Attorney declined to prosecute me and expunged my name and the charge from the record. — Literary Hub, 14 July 2026

With Ukraine busy expunging Russian cultural influences, and cities and towns removing Russian historical and literary figures’ statues and street names, the idea of a new program focused on Ukraine’s former imperial master raised eyebrows. — Howard Lafranchi, Christian Science Monitor, 27 June 2026

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

Rhymes for expunge

• lunge
• plunge
• sponge
• muskellunge

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Kids Definition

expunge

verb

ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj 

expunged; expunging

: to blot or rub out : erase

expunger noun

Legal Definition

expunge

transitive verb

ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj 

expunged; expunging

: to cancel out or destroy completely

expunge the court records of an acquitted defendant

expungement noun