delete key
noun
variants
or delete
or less commonly Delete key
or Delete
computers
: a key on a computer keyboard that when pressed deletes either a selected item (such as an icon or a block of text) or the character that immediately follows the cursor in a document
Examples of delete key in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Worse yet, the picture shown by this material is often woefully partial—with storage limitations leading organizations to regularly overwrite or delete key recorded video.
—
Freddy Kuo, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Now, European Union users will be able to delete key apps from their phones, thanks to the upcoming iOS 18.2 software which has just arrived in developer beta.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
This act alone will save it from the big delete key and save your data along with it.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
This was even proved when, in 2017, Turkish investigators seized an ExpressVPN server claiming that it had been used by someone involved with the assassination of Russian Ambassador, Andrei Karlov, to delete key information from the assassin's Gmail and Facebook accounts.
—Jon Martindale, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2021
Your touch is on the paper; handwritten words in a letter cannot disappear with a click of the delete key.
—Linda Solomon, Freep.com, 19 Dec. 2020
Westworld season 3 ended in a rather Westworld-ian way: By hitting its narrative control-alt-delete keys all at the same time for a potential re-re-reboot of the story for next season.
—James Hibberd, EW.com, 4 May 2020
The caps lock key is half size, the arrow keys are surrounded by home and end keys, and worst of all, the delete key is found right next to the backspace key, with no space between them.
—Dan Seifert, The Verge, 2 Aug. 2019
Something like a pencil and paper, with a delete key.
—Leah Garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 2018
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Freddy Kuo, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Now, European Union users will be able to delete key apps from their phones, thanks to the upcoming iOS 18.2 software which has just arrived in developer beta.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
This act alone will save it from the big delete key and save your data along with it.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
This was even proved when, in 2017, Turkish investigators seized an ExpressVPN server claiming that it had been used by someone involved with the assassination of Russian Ambassador, Andrei Karlov, to delete key information from the assassin's Gmail and Facebook accounts.
—Jon Martindale, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2021
Your touch is on the paper; handwritten words in a letter cannot disappear with a click of the delete key.
—Linda Solomon, Freep.com, 19 Dec. 2020
Westworld season 3 ended in a rather Westworld-ian way: By hitting its narrative control-alt-delete keys all at the same time for a potential re-re-reboot of the story for next season.
—James Hibberd, EW.com, 4 May 2020
The caps lock key is half size, the arrow keys are surrounded by home and end keys, and worst of all, the delete key is found right next to the backspace key, with no space between them.
—Dan Seifert, The Verge, 2 Aug. 2019
Something like a pencil and paper, with a delete key.
—Leah Garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 2018
Cite this Entry
“Delete key.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/delete%20key. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share