delete

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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈliːt/, /diˈliːt/, /dəˈliːt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: de‧lete
• Rhymes: -iːt

Verb

delete (third-person singular simple present deletes, present participle deleting, simple past and past participle deleted)

1. To remove, get rid of or erase, especially written or printed material, or data on a computer. [from 1600s]

Noun

delete (plural deletes)

1. (computing) A deletion.
   • 2003, Jeffrey P. McManus, ‎Jackie Goldstein, ‎Kevin T. Price, Database Access with Visual Basic .NET (page 30)

     Cascading updates and cascading deletes are useful features of the SQL Server database engine.

2. (uncountable) Alternative letter-case form of Delete

   I lost the file when I accidentally hit delete.

3. (recorded entertainment industry) A remainder of a music or video release.
   • 1977 October 29, Billboard‎, volume 89, number No. 43, page 57:

     One CRIA official pegs the total record sales of deletes and imports as high as 30 percent for 1976

   • 1984 December 1, Billboard‎, volume 96, number No. 48, page 68:

     The industry also continues to discuss how the new GATT will serve to prevent a flood of deletes into the market

   • 1985 February 9, Billboard‎, volume 97, number No. 6, page 38:

     Brian Robertson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Assn. (CRIA), says the flood of deletes could be more harmful than the last wave...

Verb

dēlēte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of dēleō

Participle

dēlēte

1. vocative masculine singular of dēlētus

Verb

delete

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of deletar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of deletar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of deletar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of deletar