DEFINITIONS

delve

[ delv ]
/ dɛlv /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR delve ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), delved, delv·ing.

to carry on intensive and thorough research for data, information, or the like; investigate: to delve into the issue of prison reform.
Archaic. to dig, as with a spade.

verb (used with object), delved, delv·ing.

Archaic. to dig; excavate.

Content related to delve

Who Coined The Term Fashionista?In light of a recent article about the birth of the word “fashionista” in which Stephen Fried apologized for coining the term, we’d like to delve into the -ista suffix in hopes of understanding why English speakers combine it with certain words. But first, let’s look at “fashionista.” This word originally appeared in Stephen Fried’s 1993 biography of supermodel Gia Carangi. He invented it as …
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Words related to delve

inquire, burrow, prospect, rummage, search, shovel, unearth, explore, dig, investigate, research, probe, examine, dredge, ransack, sift, seek, excavate, spade, trowel

Words nearby delve

delusive, delusterant, delustering, deluxe, delvaux, delve, dely., dem, dem., demagnetize, demagogic

Origin of delve

before 900; Middle English delven, Old English delfan; cognate with Dutch delven, Old High German telban

OTHER WORDS FROM delve

delv·er, nounun·delved, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for delving

British Dictionary definitions for delving

delve
/ (dɛlv) /

verb (mainly intr; often foll by in or into)

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)
(also tr) archaic, or dialect to dig or turn up (earth, a garden, etc), as with a spade

Derived forms of delve

delver, noun

Word Origin for delve

Old English delfan; related to Old High German telban to dig, Russian dolbit to hollow out with a chisel
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012