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

Rodriguez’s post has since been deleted, and the artist has yet to comment on the accusations. —Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 18 June 2026

Although Heuermann had made and deleted multiple versions of it over time, investigators could only recover one. —Michael Ruiz , Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 18 June 2026

The agency settled the lawsuit with no admission of wrongdoing and deleted the viral tweet in 2024. —ABC News, 17 June 2026

Fans later discovered their breakup in mid-2020, when Martinez unfollowed Tree on Instagram and both singers deleted photos of the other from their respective profiles. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 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