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 power watches for women and how “The Traitors” has created a new generation of murder-mystery fanatics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Merseyside Police say an appropriate policing plan will be in place for Sunday but chose not to delve into specifics when asked by BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 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
His molds, based on the form of a lion sculpture in the British Museum, delve into the politics of collecting and ponder what is lost when cultural artifacts are centralized in institutions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 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
The book delves into Princess Diana’s upbringing, her red-flag-ridden engagement and marriage to then-Prince Charles, the 1997 car accident that ended her life and the aftermath.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
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 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
He mun ha' summut to prop his ribs out, lass, as he delves through th' chert and tood-stone.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, July, 1850. by Various
Faruqui’s ruling came on the heels of a three-day hearing last week that delved into how the case against the officials began.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
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
As I delved into the issue, I had to change staff around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 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
But she must eat, and however busily they delved new winding passages from the pass and from their tower, ever she found some way to snare them.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Our critic wrote that the film “pays eloquent tribute to its subject, delving into the depths of her work’s accomplished purity and the private life from which it came.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 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
Before delving deeper into the issues for the permanent residents, let’s examine the effect of the large-scale data centers being built and proposed in Nevada, and more generally coast to coast.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
“If you insist on delving deeper into all of this I think he might be the only one of us that may help, though I cannot guarantee that he will be entirely forthcoming.”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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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.
