delve

verb \ ˈdelv \

|Updated on: 6 Jul 2018

Examples: delve in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Digging Up the History of delve

Definition of delve

delved; delving

transitive verb

archaic : excavate

intransitive verb

1 : to dig or labor with or as if with a spade

delved into her handbag in search of a pen

2 a : to make a careful or detailed search for information

delved into the past

b : to examine a subject in detail

the book delves into the latest research

won't delve into her reason for leaving

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delver

noun

See delve defined for English-language learners

See delve defined for kids

delve was our Word of the Day on 10/12/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of delve in a Sentence

He tried to delve inside his memory for clues about what had happened.

Recent Examples of delve from the Web

The male victims largely narrate their own stories, delving into the profound pain of dealing with the aftermath of such crimes.

— stephanie merry, chicagotribune.com, "Amber Tamblyn's novel about sexual assault will upset some people. She's OK with that.," 26 June 2018
The litigation may also delve into whether the cheerleaders are exempt from the FLSA.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "NFL Teams Previously Have Settled in Cheerleader Lawsuits. Will Texans' Ex-Cheerleaders Set Different Precedent?," 25 June 2018
Other meditation apps are also delving into the realm of health.

— sumathi reddy, WSJ, "From Meditation to Medication: Headspace Has a Prescription Strategy," 25 June 2018
Butler bogged down the trial by delving into legal arcana and badgering the president’s witnesses and lawyers.

— erick trickey, Washington Post, "‘Kill the beast’: The impeachment trial that nearly took down a president 150 years ago," 16 May 2018
Instead, the 10 half-hour episodes begin by delving into topical and offbeat subjects, ranging from the implications of Elon Musk launching a Tesla into space to how cow poop can be used as fuel.

— patrick ryan, USA TODAY, "Wyatt Cenac wants to teach you about our 'Problem Areas' in his new HBO late-night show," 10 Apr. 2018
But the filmmakers also delve into Halliday’s past and his wounded psyche, in a way that gradually becomes a little touching and tragic.

— tasha robinson, The Verge, "Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One improves immensely on the book," 30 Mar. 2018
Tatum also delves into new owners like Brooklyn’s Joe Tsai and why buying into the NBA--even at more than $2 billion--is a good investment.

— Bloomberg.com, "LeBron James, Steph Curry and the Business of Hoops (Podcast)," 18 Jan. 2018
The song delves into spending late nights, weekends and days with a special significant other.

— heran mamo, Billboard, "Here Are the Lyrics to Maroon 5's 'Girls Like You'," 12 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'delve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Digging Up the History of delve

We must dig deep into the English language's past to find the origins of "delve." The verb originated in 9th century Old English as "delfan" and is related to the Old High German word telban, meaning "dig." For some 400 years, there was only delving - no digging - because "dig" didn't exist until the 13th century. Is the phrase "dig and delve" (as in the line "eleven, twelve, dig and delve," from the nursery rhyme that begins "one, two, buckle my shoe") redundant? Not necessarily. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in some local uses as recently as the late 19th century, "dig" was the term for working with a mattock (a tool similar to an adze or a pick), while "delve" was reserved for using a spade.