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

Even more public-identifying figures on Letterboxd — like Sean Baker — have curbed their activity on the platform, and other stars like Ayo Edebiri (and now Williams) deleted their accounts entirely. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2026

Searchlight said the digital and Blu-ray versions of the film will include bonus materials such as behind the scenes with Fraser and director Hikari and deleted/extended scenes. —Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026

Police may not delete your footage or view it without a warrant. —Isa Almeida, Oklahoman, 8 Jan. 2026

The posts have since been deleted. —Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 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