delve
Americanverb (used without object)
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delves,
present (3rd person singular)
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delved,
past participle, past
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delving
present participle
verb (used with object)
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delves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
delved,
past participle, past
-
delving
present participle
verb
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to inquire or research deeply or intensively (for information, etc)
he delved in the Bible for quotations
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to search or rummage (in a drawer, the pockets, etc)
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(esp of an animal) to dig or burrow deeply (into the ground, etc)
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archaic (also tr) to dig or turn up (earth, a garden, etc), as with a spade
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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delvesimple
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delvessimple
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have delvedperfect
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has delvedperfect
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am delvingprogressive
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are delvingprogressive
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is delvingprogressive
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have been delvingperfect progressive
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has been delvingperfect progressive
Past
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delvedsimple
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had delvedperfect
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was delvingprogressive
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were delvingprogressive
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had been delvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of delve
First recorded before 900; Middle English delven, Old English delfan; cognate with Dutch delven, Old High German telban
Explanation
The verb delve means to dig into, loosen, or investigate. She delved into her family's history and discovered an inventor, a checkers champion, and a circus equestrian in her ancestry. Delve has a literal meaning of to dig into the earth ("to delve the soil," as in preparing a garden, for example), but this sense is rare now. The verb is most often used in the more figurative sense — like to delve into a problem or into someone's personal life.
Vocabulary lists containing delve
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"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
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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:
Other topics we delve into include power watches for women and how “The Traitors” has created a new generation of murder-mystery fanatics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Merseyside Police say an appropriate policing plan will be in place for Sunday but chose not to delve into specifics when asked by BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Netflix has revealed that the new installment will delve deeper into the Addams family history, while the newly released Paris image suggests that Wednesday’s next adventure could take her beyond Nevermore Academy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
His molds, based on the form of a lion sculpture in the British Museum, delve into the politics of collecting and ponder what is lost when cultural artifacts are centralized in institutions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
To get her true measure, you must delve deeper, the way a code breaker would, searching for the truth that lies just out of sight.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Christine Ji delves into the debate over morality and technology.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
The actor is starring alongside the Oscar-winning Mikey Madison in "The Social Reckoning," the drama directed and written by Aaron Sorkin that delves into the inner workings of Facebook.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
In case you missed it: The latest Risk Journal podcast delves into a new White House initiative that could allow cybersecurity firms to help the government conduct offensive operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
In a sweeping, very entertaining investigative account, Dan Kois delves into the history and benefits of bar soap and why it’s worth fighting for.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Time that doth transfix the flourish set on youth, And delves the parallels in Beauty's brow."
From Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl Sister of that "Idle Fellow." by Jenny Wren
A 2025 report by the American Credit Union Mortgage Association, a national nonprofit trade group, delved into these application figures and concluded that credit unions reported significantly lower denial rates than other lenders.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Gibney's documentaries have often delved into powerful groups, including the Church of Scientology, the Enron corporation and Israel-Iran spy wars in "Zero Days."
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Sure, I have delved into hip-hop, punk rock and Balearic music, but my own culture is naturally embedded into my records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
As Amicus delved into popular constitutionalism—the process by which ordinary people shape constitutional meaning—we came across Lyle Cherneff’s work on a largely forgotten American story that captures the concept in action.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
For the fashion of Minas Tirith was such that it was built on seven levels, each delved into the hill, and about each was set a wall, and in each wall was a gate.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
The movie, only barely delving into its subject’s troubling complexity, ends up flashy and glib, a loosely fact-based fantasia that can’t transcend its own shallowness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
And whether down to heatwaves sending more people outdoors, or younger people delving into birding, these apps are booming in popularity.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“I took care of mom for 20 years before her dementia started,” she said, delving into some of the long history of their mother’s manic-depressive behavior.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Perhaps because he was better at delving into the social and urban fabric than at creating popular spectacle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Day after day he went out as before, delving and scraping for food, as thin and dry as a hollow bamboo stick.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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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.
