delete-backward-char).
delete-char).
kill-line).
kill-word).
backward-kill-word).
The key <DEL> (delete-backward-char) removes the
character before point, moving the cursor and all the characters after
it backwards. On most keyboards, <DEL> is labelled
<Backspace>, but we refer to it as <DEL> in this manual. Do
not confuse <DEL> with another key, labelled <Delete>, that
exists on many keyboards; we will discuss <Delete> momentarily.
Typing <DEL> when the cursor is at the beginning of a line deletes the preceding newline character, joining the line with the one before it.
On some text-only terminals, Emacs may not recognize the <DEL> key properly. If <DEL> does not do the right thing (⁖, if it deletes characters forwards), see DEL Does Not Delete.
The key C-d (delete-char) deletes the character after
point, i.e., the character under the cursor. This shifts the rest of
the text on the line to the left. If you type C-d at the end of
a line, it joins that line with the following line. This command is
also bound to the key labelled <Delete> on many keyboards.
To erase a larger amount of text, use the C-k key, which erases (kills) a line at a time. If you type C-k at the beginning or middle of a line, it kills all the text up to the end of the line. If you type C-k at the end of a line, it joins that line with the following line.
To learn more about killing text, see Killing.