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.
Related Words
See cancel.
Other Word Forms
- deletable adjective
- redelete verb (used with object)
- undeleted adjective
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
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.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan Taliban spokesman, published - then subsequently deleted - a post on X that the group had launched strikes early on Friday on Pakistani military positions in Kandahar and Helmand, two provinces in Afghanistan.
From BBC
Orbs themselves are designed to delete the data immediately, the company says.
He said that at 00:05 on 19 December this file was manually stopped with the file deleted a minute later.
From BBC
The allegations against Mitula were based on information gathered by the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate, apparently from his X account, which he has now deleted.
From BBC
What is more, they can decide the period for retaining footage, which can result in evidence being deleted within a short space of time.
From BBC
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.
