delete

/dɪˈlit/

/dɪˈlit/

Other forms: deleted; deleting; deletes

The author looked at the computer screen in horror. With one keystroke she had deleted her entire manuscript. Delete means to erase.

Delete has its roots in Latin and was first used to mean destroy. In modern usage, delete means to remove completely. Delete used in writing means to edit by removing, often done by drawing a line through the text to be deleted . This process is also called “blue-penciling,” due to the use of the blue colored pencil that some editors use.

Definitions of delete

1. verb

   cut or eliminate
   synonyms: blue-pencil, edit

   type of:

   censor

   subject to political, religious, or moral censorship
2. verb

   remove or make invisible
   “Please delete my name from your list”

   synonyms: cancel

   types:

   efface, erase, rub out, score out, wipe off

   remove by or as if by rubbing or erasing

   excise, expunge, scratch, strike

   remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line

   sponge

   erase with a sponge; as of words on a blackboard

   cut out, scratch out

   strike or cancel by or as if by rubbing or crossing out

   type of:

   remove, take, take away, withdraw

   remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
3. verb

   wipe out digitally or magnetically recorded information
   synonyms: erase

   types:

   demagnetise, demagnetize

   erase (a magnetic storage device)

   type of:

   take away, take out

   take out or remove