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
-
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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:
With certain guardrails, he’ll unflinchingly delve into deep-seated psychological wounds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
We also delve into the divorce memoir sending women to their financial advisers, how to outsmart AI productivity trackers and the sleepy Portuguese beach town that might not stay that way for long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Depraved art even allows us “to safely delve into taboo subjects.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
While Prenuvo and Ezra offer a whole-body MRI scan, I've opted for Neko Health, which doesn't delve quite as deeply, and comes with a more modest £299 price tag.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
While the data and video on the Third Gate was copying over to my flash drive, I continued to delve deeper into the Sixer database.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
It also delves into his personal life, including his difficult childhood and the 14 known children he has fathered with a series of women.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 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
On June 9, he’s launching “Tea & Scotch” on YouTube, which delves into more observational comedy subjects such as ghost-seeing cats, AI paranoia and parenting a teenager.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Frequently she delves in the earth by the side of her Adam.
From Life of Schamyl And Narrative of the Circassian War of Independence Against Russia by John Milton Mackie
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
Podcasts initially started as audio only, but over the years, have delved into showing video too.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
As he led us around, he delved into the nerdy details of winemaking and provided back stories to the winery’s most popular bottles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 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
The Peasants’ Revolt in the 1380s had as one of its slogans an appeal to Biblical authority: “When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the Gentleman?”
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
“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
There are four galleries, each delving into a specific period: “Early Life to Becoming a Patriot 1732-1775”; “Revolutionary Leader 1775-1783”; “Mount Vernon to the Constitution 1784-1788”; “Presidency to Final Act 1789-1799.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
And another Lone Star resident, a 36-year-old musician, has been delving into the extraterrestrial world since he learned about an incident not far from his hometown.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
Nuclear weapons testing has affected every single human on the planet, causing at least four million premature deaths from cancer and other diseases over time, according to a new report delving into the deadly legacy.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
I couldn’t even imagine delving into my “issues” with some shrink.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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.
