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

In Mathurapur village, 243 of its 800 voters have been deleted from the voting list, according to a local booth official. —Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 1 May 2026

The forecast tells you when to fire up the mowers and where to take them, and each morning is a chance to know satisfaction before most people have finished deleting their overnight emails. —CBS News, 1 May 2026

Right now, there’s no clear federal rule requiring automakers to disclose how that data is stored, shared or deleted, so some advocates warn it could be uploaded to company servers and shared with third parties. —Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Apr. 2026

Jackson Colaco said the date would be immediately deleted. —ABC News, 30 Apr. 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