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

Google has now deleted all these apps from its Play Store, but serious damage has been done. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025

In the clip, which has now been deleted, she was seen walking up to and touching the turtles. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025

Though much public information about Rodríguez Pérez has apparently been deleted from the internet to obscure her professional background, some publications that tie her to Cimex remain. —Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025

Court documents show Mendez deleted 21,526 messages from an encrypted messaging app on her phone. —Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 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