delve

verb \ ˈdelv \

|Updated on: 22 Jun 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 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
And so Bird delves in, teasing at this familiar stuff winningly and squarely.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Incredibles 2 Review: Superhero Action That’s Familiar, but Fantastic," 11 June 2018
Ian Lee Lamb, meanwhile, delves into everything from roots and blues to folk and indie rock.

— jeff milo, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit music: Magic Bag hosts Native Howl, Gasoline Gypsies; War & Treaty at Otus Supply," 31 May 2018
The Farrow Family History About halfway through the post, Moses delves into the Farrow family history.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Inside Moses Farrow's Defense Of Woody Allen, Accusations Against Mia Farrow," 24 May 2018
The exhibit delves into the region’s diverse economic growth.

— community report, Houston Chronicle, "Sam Houston Regional Library set to reopen June 9 after renovations," 24 May 2018
Mo Rocca delves into the family tree of the House of Windsor.

— CBS News, "This week on "Sunday Morning" (May 20)," 17 May 2018
The Great Revolt delves deep into the minds and hearts of the voters that make up this coalition.

— Fox News, "'The Great Revolt' by Salena Zito and Brad Todd," 8 May 2018
Standards In Lost in Math, Hossenfelder delves briefly into the history of particle physics in order to explain the success of the Standard Model of particles and forces.

— chris lee, Ars Technica, "Lost in Math," 29 Apr. 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.