Vim Scoops / Lessons / Delete a word

How to delete a word in Vim

Put the cursor on the word and press daw to delete it and the space after it. dw deletes from the cursor to the start of the next word.

The keys

Keys	What they do
`dw`	Delete to the start of the next word
`diw`	Delete the word, leave the spaces
`daw`	Delete the word and one space
`de`	Delete to the end of the word
`3dw`	Delete three words

iw and aw are text objects: inner word and a word. They work from anywhere in the word, so you don't need to get to the start first.

Swap d for c and you delete and start typing in one go: ciw replaces a word.

Watch outdw only deletes from the cursor onwards. Halfway through a word, it leaves the first half behind. daw doesn't care where you are.

Want all of Vim, in order? Vim Scoops is a free game that starts at h j k l and builds up to macros.