delete

verb

de·​lete di-ˈlēt 

dē-

deleted; deleting

transitive verb

: to eliminate especially by blotting out, cutting out, or erasing

delete a passage in a manuscript

delete a computer file

The email was accidentally deleted.

deletable

di-ˈlē-tə-bəl 

dē-

adjective

an easily deletable photo

Synonyms

• blue-pencil
• cancel
• cross (out)
• dele
• edit (out)
• elide
• kill
• scratch (out)
• strike (out)
• stroke (out)
• x (out)

Examples of delete in a Sentence

Delete this name from the list.

When the movie was shown on TV all the swearwords had been deleted.

Recent Examples on the Web

If they were deleted, the public should be told that — along with why. —Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2025

Mitchell did not answer questions about whether Harris-Dawson had deleted messages or emails. —Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2025

Adobe promptly deleted the post, but not before Adobe critics pulled out their best pop culture references to bully the software firm. —Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 12 Apr. 2025

The post, which Wallace later deleted, included a photo of Ellis, according to the lawsuit. —Brooke Migdon, The Hill, 10 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin deletus, past participle of delēre to wipe out, destroy

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing delete

• delete key

Rhymes for delete

• amit
• athlete
• backseat
• blackfeet
• broadsheet
• browbeat
• buckwheat
• compete
• compleat
• complete
• conceit
• concrete

Kids Definition

delete

verb

de·​lete di-ˈlēt 

deleted; deleting

: to eliminate especially by blotting out, cutting out, or erasing

delete a part of the story

delete a computer file

deletion

di-ˈlē-shən

noun