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

• cancel
• erase
• remove
• censor

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

Multiple videos that have gone viral locally on social media but were later deleted showed the fight and ensuing altercations that occurred, including one of Taddese’s friends attempting to help him before Taddese was fatally shot, a moment also captured on camera. —Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025

Backups are optional; audio is deleted after transcription; only text is stored locally. —Charlie Fink, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025

Despite this, Balaji’s family has continued to dispute the suicide finding, alleging investigative lapses, possible deleted or missing surveillance footage, and a lack of transparency from officials. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025

That post has since been deleted. —Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 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