deletion

UK: /dɪˈliːʃ^ən/ US: /dɪˈliʃən/ ,(di lē′shən)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

de•le•tion  (di lē′shən), n. 

1. an act or instance of deleting.
2. the state of being deleted.
3. a deleted word, passage, etc.
4. Genetics a type of chromosomal aberration in which a segment of the chromosome is removed or lost.

• Latin dēlētiōn- (stem of dēlētiō) a destroying, equivalent. to dēlēt(us) (see delete) + -iōn- -ion
• 1580–90

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

deletion / dɪˈliːʃən/ noun

1. the act of deleting or fact of being deleted
2. a deleted passage, word, etc, in text
3. the loss or absence of a section of a chromosome

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

de•lete /dɪˈlit/   v. [ ~ + obj], -let•ed, -let•ing. 

1. to strike out or remove (something written or printed); cancel;
   erase.

de•le•tion /dɪˈliʃən/  n. 

[uncountable] Mark those paragraphs for deletion.

[countable] deletions from the list.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

de•lete  (di lēt′), v.t., -let•ed, -let•ing. 

1. to strike out or remove (something written or printed);
   cancel;
   erase;
   expunge.

• Latin dēlētus (past participle of dēlēre to destroy), equivalent. to dēl- destroy + -ē- thematic vowel + -tus past participle suffix
• 1485–95

de•let′a•ble, adj. 
Synonyms

eradicate. See cancel.