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

Instead, too many filmmakers took the crowd’s attention span for granted; even the strongest films in competition could delete a half-hour of dead air. —Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026

Ida is thrilled with her viral moment — the reel has pulled in over 60,000 viewers — and devastated when her mom forces her to delete it, though for reasons yet unknown to the rest of her family, Nora is too late in stopping its spread. —Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 22 May 2026

But in an Instagram comment that he’s now deleted, Krusen shot down the idea. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2026

All data is deleted within 30 days, according to Disney. —Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 20 May 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