Edit

/ˈedɪt/

verbBeginner🔥Very CommonAction
3 meanings1 idiom/phrase3 questions

Definitions

3 meanings
1

To revise and correct written or recorded material, making it ready for publication, presentation, or use.

/ˈedɪt/

verbneutralBeginner
Action

To prepare written or recorded material for publication or presentation.

She edited the manuscript for clarity.

💡 Simply: Imagine you're making a video and you need to cut out some parts you don't like or add music. Editing is like that – it's making something better by changing it!

👶 For kids: To fix or make something better, like when you fix your drawing or cut out parts of a video.

More Examples

2

I'm going to edit the photos before posting them online.

3

The editor edited the newspaper article.

How It's Used

Journalism

"The journalist edited the article before submitting it."

Film/Video Production

"The director spent hours editing the footage."

2

To modify or change the content or structure of a digital file or dataset.

/ˈedɪt/

verbneutralmedium
Action

To make changes to a file or data.

You can edit the document using the word processor.

💡 Simply: Like changing the words in a document on your computer or changing a picture in a photo editor.

👶 For kids: To change a file on a computer, like changing a drawing or a story.

More Examples

2

He edited the HTML code to update the website.

3

I have to edit the video file.

How It's Used

Computer Science

"Please edit the configuration file."

Software Development

"I need to edit the source code to fix the bug."

Tip:Imagine a programmer changing some code.
3

A specific change or correction made to a piece of writing, film, or other work to improve it.

/ˈedɪt/

nounneutralmedium
Thing

A change or correction made to a piece of writing.

The author reviewed all the edits made by the publisher.

💡 Simply: It's like a specific correction that was made. 'I made an edit to the sentence'

👶 For kids: When you fix something, you can say you've made an edit.

More Examples

2

The editor suggested a few edits to improve clarity.

3

There were several edits to the original text.

How It's Used

Literature

"The author incorporated the editor's edits into the final draft."

Publishing

"The editor made several edits to the manuscript."

Tip:Think of it as a specific correction.

Idioms & expressions

edit out

To remove something from a text, recording, or film.

"The director edited out the unnecessary scenes."

From Latin *ēditus* (past participle of *ēdere*, meaning "to put forth, publish"), originally relating to the act of publishing or bringing something to light. Its meaning evolved to include preparing or modifying content.

Originally referred to the preparation and publication of literary works. The term has expanded with technological advancements.

Memory tip

Think of a school teacher correcting a student's work.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"to put forth, publish"

edit a documentedit a videoedit an articleedit a manuscriptedit down

Common misspellings

edditedidtedite

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written