edit

¹

[ed-it]

verb (used with object)

1. to supervise or direct the preparation of (a newspaper, magazine, book, etc.); serve as editor of; direct the editorial policies of.

2. to collect, prepare, and arrange (materials) for publication.

3. to revise or correct, as a manuscript.

4. to expunge; eliminate (often followed byout ).

   The author has edited out all references to his own family.

5. to add (usually followed byin ).

6. to prepare (motion-picture film, video or magnetic tape) by deleting, arranging, and splicing, by synchronizing the sound record with the film, etc.

7. Genetics.,  to alter the arrangement of (genes).

8. Computers.,  to modify or add to (data or text).

noun

1. an instance of or the work of editing.

   automated machinery that allows a rapid edit of incoming news.

edit.

²

abbreviation

1. edited.

2. edition.

3. editor.

edit

/ ˈɛdɪt /

verb

1. to prepare (text) for publication by checking and improving its accuracy, clarity, etc

2. to be in charge of (a publication, esp a periodical)

   he edits the local newspaper

3. to prepare (a film, tape, etc) by rearrangement, selection, or rejection of previously filmed or taped material

4. (tr) to modify (a computer file) by, for example, deleting, inserting, moving, or copying text

5. (often foll by out) to remove (incorrect or unwanted matter), as from a manuscript or film

noun

1. informal,  an act of editing

   give the book a final edit

Other Word Forms

• misedit verb (used with object)
• overedit verb
• reedit verb (used with object)
• unedited adjective
• well-edited adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of edit¹

First recorded in 1785–95; 1915–20 edit for def. 6; partly back formation from editor, partly from French éditer, verb derivative of Latin ēditus “published, given out,” past participle of ēdere “to give out,” from ē- e- ¹ + -dere, combining form of dare “to give” ( datum )

Word History and Origins

Origin of edit¹

C18: back formation from _editor

Example Sentences

In this recent interview, which has been edited for length and clarity, Taneja discusses how individuals and companies can transform themselves, notes AI stocks with growth potential, and explains AI’s huge risk and major opportunity.

Read more on MarketWatch

AI is “getting better and better” at writing the management discussion and analysis section, with ever less editing from the company’s regulatory-reporting manager, Trent said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The book is ostensibly “authored” by McCartney even though it is an oral history that has been edited by Ted Widmer, an estimable historian and a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They recorded their parts separately with executive music director Ian Eisendrath, who then worked with the music team to edit them all together.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The landmark legal reference book he edits, Black’s Law Dictionary, is as much a fixture of American courts as black robes, rosewood gavels and brass scales of justice.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• adapt 
• alter 
• analyze 
• annotate 
• arrange 
• assemble 
• censor 
• choose 
• compile 
• compose 
• delete 
• prepare 
• publish 
• rearrange 
• revise 
• select