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

The daylong feud between Musk and Trump on their respective social media platforms featured many accusations and threats, but as the president signals he is done with his onetime adviser, Musk has since deleted two of his most inflammatory posts from his X account. —Zach Lachance, The Washington Examiner, 7 June 2025

In addition to looking at whether the information was classified and who wrote it, investigators are also asking whether any staff members were asked by Hegseth or others to delete messages, according to one person familiar with the IG probe. —Luis Martinez, ABC News, 7 June 2025

The list has since been deleted from the DHS website. —Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 6 June 2025

Mark the text as spam and delete it without responding. —Kathryn Kovalenko, Twin Cities, 6 June 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