delve
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
to inquire or research deeply or intensively (for information, etc)
he delved in the Bible for quotations
-
to search or rummage (in a drawer, the pockets, etc)
-
(esp of an animal) to dig or burrow deeply (into the ground, etc)
-
archaic (also tr) to dig or turn up (earth, a garden, etc), as with a spade
Other Word Forms
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.
The indictment stems from the earliest days of the pandemic in the first months of 2020, when scientists were trying to get their arms around the novel coronavirus and delve into its features and origins.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
Reid said this fresh research, led by QUB in partnership with the University of Newcastle, has combined several techniques to delve further.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Other topics we delve into include the workers shunning the AI revolution, sperm health and how to get your kids to love golf.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Finally, the hosts delve into the New York Times’ quest to uncover the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, and argue over the investigation’s conclusion.
From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026
As physicists began to delve into this subatomic realm, they realized that it wasn’t merely different from anything we knew, but different from anything ever imagined.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
