delete
Americanverb (used with object)
-
deletes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deleted,
past participle, past
-
deleting
present participle
verb
Usage
What is basic definition of delete? Delete means to remove or destroy something, specifically something that is written, printed, or stored on a computer. Before the Internet, delete often referred to removing something from drafts of books, letters, newspapers, and other materials. Today, delete often refers to either hitting a key on a keyboard that erases text or telling a computer to get rid of a file, as by placing a document in the trash can. A person may also want to delete (deactivate) a social media account.
- Real-life examples: When you’re writing an essay, you might delete some paragraphs and add others. To better use data storage space, you might delete all of your junk email or delete a bunch of photos from your smartphone.
- Used in a sentence: The reporter deleted the final two paragraphs of the story in order to make it shorter.
Synonym Usage
See cancel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deletesimple
-
deletessimple
-
have deletedperfect
-
has deletedperfect
-
am deletingprogressive
-
are deletingprogressive
-
is deletingprogressive
-
have been deletingperfect progressive
-
has been deletingperfect progressive
Past
-
deletedsimple
-
had deletedperfect
-
was deletingprogressive
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were deletingprogressive
-
had been deletingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of delete
1485–95; < Latin dēlētus (past participle of dēlēre to destroy), equivalent to dēl- destroy + -ē- thematic vowel + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
The author looked at the computer screen in horror. With one keystroke she had deleted her entire manuscript. Delete means to erase. Delete has its roots in Latin and was first used to mean destroy. In modern usage, delete means to remove completely. Delete used in writing means to edit by removing, often done by drawing a line through the text to be deleted . This process is also called “blue-penciling,” due to the use of the blue colored pencil that some editors use.
Vocabulary lists containing delete
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 7–11
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Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Fear and Loathing in Cleveland: Trump's RNC Acceptance Speech
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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.
See Examples For:
You don’t have to uninstall any apps or delete Facebook, though you could try it too.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
Alex also repeatedly asked one of the man to delete the video, and when he started running away, she took off her heels and chased after him.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Takahashi, however, said TikTok was "no longer obliged to delete" the videos in question because the anonymous user behind them had taken them down several months after the lawsuit began.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
“Please delete this,” she urged French on X. “This post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
I power the phone back on and delete all of Tats’s messages.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
OpenAI automatically deletes temporary conversations from servers within 30 days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Claude-powered AI coding agent deletes entire company database in 9 seconds.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
He said he deletes the entries of ICE agents who have quit.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2026
In a moment of fraught tenderness, she deletes it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
Ben deletes, retypes: What are the differences between America's far past and its recent past?
From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Even after discovering the leaks, the military continued to use the vehicles until the end of the exercise due to a lack of alternatives and the soldiers deleted the videos, DN reported.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
"Multiple data points are showing that Muslims have become the most deleted people," institute's director Sabir Ahamed told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
While the cleaning cannot be done without video access, customers can request to have their data deleted after the cleaning.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
This last, it is said, may be a deleted chapter from the novel but is notable for many chills of its own, such as that evoked by the alarming tombstone inscription: “The dead travel fast.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
I shoved the iPod into my backpack, peeved about the deleted playlist and Mrs. B’s snarky comments.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Agents typically know to ask permission before doing major things like making purchases or deleting files, but other than that, they can have free rein.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Ye Lin was charged with communicating a false message and obstructing the course of justice for allegedly deleting the picture and the application he used.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
A former governor was arrested in August, on accusations of deleting the security videos of the scene of the crime in Iguala.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
The lawsuit claims that the Education Department gave servicers instructions, known as a change request, on how to process these group loan discharges, including deleting credit trade lines.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
He wrote for a long time, and I imagined him typing and deleting, typing and deleting.
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
