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
-
deletesimple
-
deletessimple
-
have deletedperfect
-
has deletedperfect
-
am deletingprogressive
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are deletingprogressive
-
is deletingprogressive
-
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:
Got to write the sentence and delete it.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
Relatives and acquaintances called my parents, urging them to make me delete my videos or face the consequences.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Frequently review and delete the AI’s financial memories.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
One example is the right to delete, which allows individuals to ask businesses to erase data they have collected on them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
“I’ve already had to delete a few people because they want to believe that no one did anything wrong. Well, no one except Javier.”
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
OpenAI automatically deletes temporary conversations from servers within 30 days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
When that happens, he deletes records of the attempt.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 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
Ben deletes, retypes: What are the differences between America's far past and its recent past?
From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
According to Spanish outlet El Mundo,, external Gonzalez has deleted all photos of herself with her wife and their first child, born in January, from her social media accounts since signing for Al Qadsiah.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The day my classes were deleted in 2021, I did an emergency phone shrink session where my therapist reminded me that with stints as a poet, novelist and journalist, I was well-versed at reinvention.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
"When we deleted the APOE4 gene from astrocytes, nothing changed," Zilberter says.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Last fall, a federal bankruptcy judge ordered the network liquidated, finding evidence that McGraw deleted text messages to conceal plans favoring certain creditors over others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Diego sent me a couple of texts, left some messages, but I deleted them unanswered and unread.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
A former chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Council has been convicted of two charges connected to deleting or attempting to delete an email to prevent disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
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
On Wednesday night, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported being told that “the aerial image of the crowds from last week’s his rally enraged him so much that officials ended up deleting them.”
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
I think about deleting the line, but then she writes back.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
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.
