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 of delete

• 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

The WhatsApp logs show Carvajal deleted a total 14 messages sent by other participants in the chat and 42 of his own messages before the Herald obtained the logs, so the full extent of his participation is not clear. —Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026

Two incumbent Democrats face their own challengers after a 2025 re-map of the state deleted several of their safe seats. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026

Sky News reports that the press release was later deleted from the IDF’s website. —Alexander Durie, Time, 3 Mar. 2026

However, Arapahoe County investigators discovered several videos of the woman and her new partner had been taken on Ronald Lowry’s phone and later deleted. —Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026

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