To save this word, you'll need to log in.
ed·it | \ ˈe-dət 
\
\edited; editing; edits
Definition of edit
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a : to prepare (something, such as literary material) for publication or public presentation
edit a manuscript
b : to assemble (something, such as a moving picture or tape recording) by cutting and rearranging
edit a film
c : to alter, adapt, or refine especially to bring about conformity to a standard or to suit a particular purpose
carefully edited the speech edit a data file
2 : to direct the publication of
edits the daily newspaper
3 : delete —usually used with out
4 : to modify a gene or gene product of by inserting, deleting, or replacing DNA sequences
The first work attempting to edit human embryos grabbed headlines last week.— Penny Sarchet and Michael Le Page — see gene editing
edit
nounDefinition of edit (Entry 2 of 2)
: an instance or result of editing
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from edit
Verb
editable \ ˈe-də-tə-bəl \ adjective
\ adjective
Examples of edit in a Sentence
Verb
This chapter needs to be edited.
The book was poorly edited.
The stories have been edited for a younger audience.
Students learn to edit their essays for grammar and punctuation.
The software allows you to edit videos on your computer.
This film has been edited for television.
an anthology of ancient poetry edited by a local professor
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb In the OpenWeb study, about half of people who chose to edit their comment did so to remove or replace the toxic language, or to reshape the comment entirely.
—
Arielle Pardes, Wired, "To Clean Up Comments, Let AI Tell Users Their Words Are Trash," 22 Sep. 2020 Ironically, Caputo himself has reportedly tried to edit the CDC’s benchmark Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports to align with the president’s upbeat predictions about COVID-19.
—
Matt Ford, The New Republic, "The Most Hysterical Worst-Case Election Scenario," 15 Sep. 2020 Expert home organizers Clea and Joanna help celebrities and everyday clients edit, categorize and contain their clutter to create stunning spaces.
—
Nina Zafar, Washington Post, "What to watch on Wednesday: ‘The Social Dilemma’ on Netflix," 9 Sep. 2020 Where their Netflix predecessor Marie Kondo laid out a spiritual path to help people go from sty to sanctuary, Shearer and Teplin follow a four-step process: edit, categorize, contain, maintain.
—
Jenny Singer, Glamour, "Get Organized With The Home Edit," 9 Sep. 2020 Players will be able to edit Kaepernick's stats in Franchise mode.
—
Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Colin Kaepernick hits the field in Madden NFL 21 without actual NFL deal," 8 Sep. 2020 Rather, the arts council created a video of each performer and had a professional company edit the pieces together.
—
Katie V. Jones, baltimoresun.com, "Howard County Arts Council’s Celebration of the Arts Gala moves online Aug. 27," 21 Aug. 2020 With Reels, users can edit snappy, 15-second clips using filters and audio tracks, then share them with users that might not already be following them.
—
Thatiana Diaz, refinery29.com, "12 Instagram Accounts To Follow For The Best Beauty Reels," 14 Aug. 2020 People also edit the site to keep what's listed accurate and relevant.
—
Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, "Want to participate in a protest? You may want to do this with your tech before you go," 4 June 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun From a Telfar shirt to Agmes earrings, shop the edit below and get acquainted with some of America’s best design talent.
—
Rachel Besser, Vogue, "I Heart N.Y.: Shop the New York Designers to Know, as Seen on Paloma Elsesser," 21 Sep. 2020 Paramount Pictures is working on a new edit and restoration of Francis Ford Coppola's final installment in the trilogy, the studio said in a release on Thursday.
—
Alexia Fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "Francis Ford Coppola to Re-Release The Godfather Part III with a Completely Different Ending," 3 Sep. 2020 Siriano’s edit plays with shapes and color, mixing dark wood, sleek metals and smooth upholstery.
—
Hannah Chubb, PEOPLE.com, "Christian Siriano, Rebecca Minkoff & Jason Wu Curate Affordable Home Decor Collections for Lowe’s," 8 Sep. 2020 Paramount Pictures plans to release the new edit in theaters for a limited time in December, followed by an at-home release on digital platforms.
—
Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, "New cut of ‘The Godfather Part III’ with a different ending coming to theaters in December," 4 Sep. 2020 The 6-foot-2, 310-pound mauler, out of William A. Hough High School (Cornelius, North Carolina), received an Oregon edit just after midnight and was also quickly in contact with defensive line coach Joe Salave’a.
—
oregonlive, "Curtis Neal, nation’s No. 11 defensive tackle, on Oregon Ducks: ’I think I can be the piece to win them the natty’," 2 Sep. 2020 Twitter users hoping for the ability to fix a tweet without deleting it and starting over may be disappointed after the social media company said on Wednesday its mask-for-edit button offer didn’t seem to do the trick.
—
Nathan Crooks, Bloomberg.com, "Twitter Says Mask-for-Edit Button Lure Didn’t Work," 2 Sep. 2020 When styling a space, edit furniture and decor down to only the items that serve a purpose or reflect your personality.
—
Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, "7 Simple Ways to Add French Style to Your Home," 31 Aug. 2020 But Scalise initially doubled down, defending the edit as accurate and fair.
—
John Simerman, NOLA.com, "Steve Scalise takes down Twitter video that included doctored video of a man with ALS," 31 Aug. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'edit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for edit
edit
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of edit
: to prepare (something written) to be published or used : to make changes, correct mistakes, etc., in (something written)
: to prepare (a film, recording, photo, etc.) to be seen or heard : to change, move, or remove parts of (a film, recording, photo, etc.)
: to be in charge of the publication of (something)
See the full definition for edit in the English Language Learners Dictionary
edit
verbed·it | \ ˈe-dət \
\edited; editing
Kids Definition of edit
1 : to correct, revise, and get ready for publication : collect and arrange material to be printed
I'm editing a book of poems.
2 : to be in charge of the publication of something (as an encyclopedia or a newspaper) that is the work of many writers
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on edit
What made you want to look up edit? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!
- Which is a synonym of fuliginous?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share edit
Time Traveler for edit
The first known use of edit was in 1791
See more words from the same year