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

• 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

This is my mother’s story that cannot be deleted, this is her legit experiences on steamship of American democracy. —Kevin Powell, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025

Katherine del Rio took to social media to post, then delete, a couple of Instagram Stories mocking Leah Lewis following the incident on the set of the CBS drama. —Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025

Many resort to influencer marketing or guerilla-style tactics — efforts that are inconsistent, hard to measure and often flagged or deleted. —Cynthia Salarizadeh, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2025

Some noted that Jones had deleted his social-media accounts in response to the backlash. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 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