deletion

noun

de·​le·​tion di-ˈlē-shən 

dē-

1

: the act of deleting

2

a

: something deleted

b(1)

: the absence of a section of genetic material from a gene or chromosome

(2)

: the mutational process that results in a deletion

Synonyms

• omission

Examples of deletion in a Sentence

one of the deletions from the final cut of the movie turned out to be my one line of dialogue

Recent Examples on the Web

However, all of the deletions that had already been saved under the order will still be accessible to the NYT’s lawyers as evidence. —PC Magazine, 11 Oct. 2025

These secondary variants took many forms, including both small changes and large deletions, duplications and expansions of their DNA. —Santhosh Girirajan, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2025

So, the researchers looked at where these hox genes were active in fish with and without the deletion. —John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025

Integrate archiving with centralized policy controls, permissions and defensible deletion workflows. —Sean Nathaniel, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin deletion-, deletio destruction, from delēre

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for deletion

• accretion
• completion
• concretion
• depletion
• excretion
• repletion
• secretion
• carburetion
• grecian
• hypersecretion

Medical Definition

deletion

noun

de·​le·​tion di-ˈlē-shən 

1

: the absence of a section of genetic material from a gene or chromosome

2

: the mutational process that results in a deletion