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

Boyle, 65, shared a series of Instagram photos on Thursday, May 28, after deleting all previous posts. —Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026

Emily, who had deleted X from her phone long ago, had to re-download the app to see that the picture had gone viral. —Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026

Meanwhile, a new privacy feature lets users better control the data Oura can access, such as allowing members to delete sensitive information for specific time periods — including the last three months — while keeping the rest of their data intact. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 May 2026

If your pitch doesn’t lead with a unique angle or real data, it’s getting deleted. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 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