deletion

noun

de·​le·​tion di-ˈlē-shən 

dē-

1

: the act of deleting

2

a

: something deleted

b(1)

: the absence of a section of genetic material from a gene or chromosome

(2)

: the mutational process that results in a deletion

Synonyms

• elision
• omission

Examples of deletion in a Sentence

one of the deletions from the final cut of the movie turned out to be my one line of dialogue

Recent Examples on the Web

The evidence leans toward the account being American, but the deletion leaves some uncertainty. —Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025

By 2016, researchers were specifically editing in deletions of imprinted genes in order to allow the creation of embryos by fusing stem cell lines that only had a single set of chromosomes. —ArsTechnica, 23 June 2025

Importantly, not everyone with such a deletion will develop schizophrenia or other psychiatric conditions. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025

This one variant, which appears as a deletion that causes a nearby gene to over-express, essentially serves as a switch to produce lighter features instead of the default brown or black fur color – which presents as orange in male individuals with this mutation. —New Atlas, 24 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin deletion-, deletio destruction, from delēre

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for deletion

• accretion
• completion
• concretion
• depletion
• excretion
• repletion
• secretion
• carburetion
• grecian
• hypersecretion

Medical Definition

deletion

noun

de·​le·​tion di-ˈlē-shən 

1

: the absence of a section of genetic material from a gene or chromosome

2

: the mutational process that results in a deletion