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
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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
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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:
Other topics we delve into include why nurses keep quitting, the era of older grandparents and the review of Apple’s new folding iPhone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
Netflix has revealed that the new installment will delve deeper into the Addams family history, while the newly released Paris image suggests that Wednesday’s next adventure could take her beyond Nevermore Academy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
With certain guardrails, he’ll unflinchingly delve into deep-seated psychological wounds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
"We like to have a little delve into other people's lives – in particular where there's a shocking 'before and after', or they're able to watch the process," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Brady, shocked at Ernest’s vehemence, tried to delve deeper.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Christine Ji delves into the debate over morality and technology.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
This ‘NOVA’ presentation delves into the development of brains—those of both humans and some of our intelligent fellow creatures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The actor is starring alongside the Oscar-winning Mikey Madison in "The Social Reckoning," the drama directed and written by Aaron Sorkin that delves into the inner workings of Facebook.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 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
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth, And delves the parallels in beauty's brow; Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth, And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow.
From The Golden Treasury Of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language by Francis Turner Palgrave
A 2025 report by the American Credit Union Mortgage Association, a national nonprofit trade group, delved into these application figures and concluded that credit unions reported significantly lower denial rates than other lenders.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
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
Sure, I have delved into hip-hop, punk rock and Balearic music, but my own culture is naturally embedded into my records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 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
One entrance only was there made in it, a great arch delved in the southern wall.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
This team should retain a lot of their positivity, but do so without delving into the recklessness and inflexibility we saw before.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Ms. Aviv also uses one woman’s experience as a way of delving into the bruising trade-offs of Filipino women who work as nannies overseas so that their own children, motherless at home, have spending money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“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
"Is the iPhone Birth Control?" asked a paper published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, delving into why US fertility rates have fallen by 22 percent since 2007.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
I couldn’t even imagine delving into my “issues” with some shrink.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
