delete key

noun

variants or delete or less commonly Delete key or Delete
computers
: a key on a computer keyboard that when pressed deletes either a selected item (such as an icon or a block of text) or the character that immediately follows the cursor in a document

Examples of delete key in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Now, European Union users will be able to delete key apps from their phones, thanks to the upcoming iOS 18.2 software which has just arrived in developer beta. David Phelan, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 This act alone will save it from the big delete key and save your data along with it. Davey Winder, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 This was even proved when, in 2017, Turkish investigators seized an ExpressVPN server claiming that it had been used by someone involved with the assassination of Russian Ambassador, Andrei Karlov, to delete key information from the assassin's Gmail and Facebook accounts. Jon Martindale, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2021 Your touch is on the paper; handwritten words in a letter cannot disappear with a click of the delete key. Linda Solomon, Freep.com, 19 Dec. 2020 Westworld season 3 ended in a rather Westworld-ian way: By hitting its narrative control-alt-delete keys all at the same time for a potential re-re-reboot of the story for next season. James Hibberd, EW.com, 4 May 2020 The caps lock key is half size, the arrow keys are surrounded by home and end keys, and worst of all, the delete key is found right next to the backspace key, with no space between them. Dan Seifert, The Verge, 2 Aug. 2019 Something like a pencil and paper, with a delete key. Leah Garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of delete key was in 1963

Dictionary Entries Near delete key

Cite this Entry

“Delete key.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/delete%20key. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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