delete
Americanverb (used with object)
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
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are deletingprogressive
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is deletingprogressive
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have been deletingperfect progressive
-
has been deletingperfect progressive
Past
-
deletedsimple
-
had deletedperfect
-
was deletingprogressive
-
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:
Frequently review and delete the AI’s financial memories.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Major AI assistants let users turn off memory entirely, and each offers some way to view, edit or delete what’s been stored.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
Instead, too many filmmakers took the crowd’s attention span for granted; even the strongest films in competition could delete a half-hour of dead air.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
In the IPO paperwork, the company formally defines “The Algorithm” as a five-step process with the guiding principles of SpaceX: make less dumb, delete, optimize, accelerate, automate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Then I store the location in my GPS and delete the message.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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
Maybe Ms. Morales is just one of those people who deletes text messages right after she reads them, Emma told herself.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Sony has pulled similar moves before: in 2023, the company deleted over 1,000 seasons of Discovery TV shows customers had purchased due to content licensing arrangements.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Google no longer stores location history data on its servers and has deleted all such data.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
All but three of the violations were eventually deleted after the company contested them and an administrative judge made a ruling on the matter, agency records state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
In fact, after the movie was accidentally deleted, Pixar’s executives deleted the movie again—on purpose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
“Maybe you just deleted something by mistake. Did you check in the Delete file?”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Now he’s gone dark, deleting his X.com account after exchanging volleys with a radio reporter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
"We discovered that deleting Mitch led to a major drop in fats in membranes," Gross explains.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 3, 2026
He famously tweeted “SELL” in January 2023 before deleting his X account.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
While the tokens at large became tradeable, Sun said World Liberty has blocked him from being able to sell a single one, and is now threatening to "burn" his - deleting them entirely.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 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
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.
