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

Investigators later discovered WeChat messages between the men and their Chinese government handler had been deleted. —Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026

This easy one-touch option to isolate all such apps and then delete them from a phone is a major step forward. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026

That bill allows internet users to see what is being collected about them, tell companies to delete it, and stop companies from selling or sharing their data. —Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026

The prompt has full access to the entire drive contents, allowing an attacker to copy, modify, or delete them. —Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 14 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