delete

Delete means to remove or destroy something, specifically something that is written, printed, or stored on a computer.

Before the Internet, delete often referred to removing something from drafts of books, letters, newspapers, and other materials. Today, delete often refers to either hitting a key on a keyboard that erases text or telling a computer to get rid of a file, as by placing a document in the trash can. A person may also want to delete (deactivate) a social media account.

• Real-life examples: When you’re writing an essay, you might delete some paragraphs and add others. To better use data storage space, you might delete all of your junk email or delete a bunch of photos from your smartphone.
• Used in a sentence: The reporter deleted the final two paragraphs of the story in order to make it shorter. 

The first records of delete come from around 1485. It comes from the Latin dēlēre, meaning “to destroy.”

What are some other forms related to delete?

• deletion (noun)
• deletable (adjective)
• redelete (verb)
• undeleted (adjective)

What are some synonyms for delete?

• erase
• remove
• expunge
• destroy
• eliminate

What are some words that share a root or word element with delete? 

• deletion

What are some words that often get used in discussing delete?

• computer
• text
• draft
• file
• email
• picture
• keyboard

Delete is a common word that most often refers to destroying or erasing something on a computer.

Time to film exactly what I filmed yesterday and NOT DELETE THE FILES

— Chloe Donald 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@ChloeDonald_) May 6, 2015

When downloading a PDF, if it ends with .exe, delete it. It's probably a virus.

— Fact (@Fact) December 2, 2020

Being an adult is just constantly deleting emails from your inbox

— Meemze (@MimiLei_) December 2, 2020

True or False?

If you delete a text message, you are erasing it from your device.