delete

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /dɪˈliːt/ See IPA manual

Freq #8160

Meanings

1

verb
To remove or erase something, especially text or data on a computer.

I accidentally deleted the file from my laptop.
2

noun
The act of removing data or text.

One wrong delete can wipe out hours of work.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to remove or erase... erase remove clear

More blue-pencilcancel eliminate exclude expunge obliterateredactscore scrap

Opposites

insert maintain

Word family

Forms deleteddeletesdeleting

Derived forms autodeletedeletabilitydeletabledeletantdeleteedeleterdeletiadeletiondeletivenondeletingredeleteself-delete

Related forms deliblediminish

Simplified etymology

Delete entered English in the Late Middle English period from Latin delere, “blot out” or “efface.” Its earliest recorded English sense was “destroy.”

Etymology

From Latin dēlētus, past participle of dēlēre (“destroy, blot out, efface”), from dēlēvī, originally perf. tense of dēlinere (“to daub, erase by smudging”), from dē- (“from, away”) + linere (“to smear, wipe”). Original sense first appears c. 1495. In common use for ordering the absence of features of products (such as automobiles) in the 1960s. The computing sense, including the noun form, first appears c. 1977 in Software: Practice & Experience. Not related to deleterious. Doublet of delible and deleble.

*h₂leyH- Proto-Indo-European dēlētus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# delete

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈliːt/
**Frequency rank:** 8160

## Meanings
1. To remove or erase something, especially text or data on a computer.
2. The act of removing data or text.

## Examples
- I accidentally deleted the file from my laptop.
- One wrong delete can wipe out hours of work.

## Synonyms
- blue-pencil
- cancel
- clear
- eliminate
- erase
- exclude
- expunge
- obliterate
- redact
- remove
- score
- scrap

## Antonyms
- insert
- maintain

## Derived Forms
- autodelete
- deletability
- deletable
- deletant
- deletee
- deleter
- deletia
- deletion
- deletive
- nondeleting
- redelete
- self-delete

## Related Forms
- delible
- diminish

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂leyH-
- Root: dēlētus

## Etymology
From Latin dēlētus, past participle of dēlēre (“destroy, blot out, efface”), from dēlēvī, originally perf. tense of dēlinere (“to daub, erase by smudging”), from dē- (“from, away”) + linere (“to smear, wipe”). Original sense first appears c. 1495. In common use for ordering the absence of features of products (such as automobiles) in the 1960s. The computing sense, including the noun form, first appears c. 1977 in Software: Practice & Experience. Not related to deleterious. Doublet of delible and deleble.

## AI Etymology
delete comes from Latin dēlētus, past participle of dēlēre (“destroy, blot out, efface”), from dēlēvī, originally perf. tense of dēlinere (“to daub, erase by smudging”), from dē- (“from, away”) + linere (“to smear, wipe”). Original sense first appears c. 1495. In common use for ordering the absence of features of products (such as automobiles) in the 1960s. The computing sense, including the noun form, first appears c. 1977 in Software: Practice & Experience. Not related to deleterious. Doublet of delible and deleble. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH-, Latin dēlētus. Current senses include to remove or erase something, especially text or data on a computer and The act of removing data or text. English relatives and later formations include autodelete, deletability, deletable, delible, diminish.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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