{"id":13769,"date":"2023-12-29T01:08:15","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T08:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/?page_id=13769"},"modified":"2023-12-29T01:08:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T08:08:23","slug":"mysql-delete","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-delete\/","title":{"rendered":"MySQL DELETE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the <strong>MySQL DELETE<\/strong> statement to delete rows from a table and return the number of deleted rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction to MySQL DELETE statement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <code>DELETE<\/code> statement allows you to delete rows from a table and returns the number of deleted rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the basic syntax of the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-1\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">DELETE<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span> table_name\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">WHERE<\/span> condition;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-1\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>In this syntax:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First, specify the table from which you delete data after the <code>FROM<\/code> keyword.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Second, specify a condition to&nbsp;determine which rows to delete in the <code>WHERE<\/code> clause.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The <code>WHERE<\/code> clause is optional. If you omit the <code>WHERE<\/code> clause, the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement will delete all rows in the table:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-2\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">DELETE<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span> table_name;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-2\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p class=\"note\">Note that to delete data from multiple related tables, you use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-delete-join\/\">DELETE JOIN<\/a> statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you need to remove all rows from a large table and don&#8217;t need to know the exact number of rows deleted, you should use the&nbsp;<code><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-truncate-table\/\">TRUNCATE TABLE<\/a><\/code> statement&nbsp;for better performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a table that has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-foreign-key\/\">foreign key<\/a> constraint, when you delete rows from the parent table, MySQL automatically deletes the rows in the child table if the foreign key uses the <code><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-on-delete-cascade\/\">ON DELETE CASCADE<\/a><\/code> option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MySQL DELETE statement examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ll create a table called <code>contacts<\/code> with some sample data for the demonstration:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-3\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">CREATE<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">TABLE<\/span> contacts (\n    <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">id<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-built_in\">INT<\/span> AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">KEY<\/span>,\n    first_name <span class=\"hljs-built_in\">VARCHAR<\/span>(<span class=\"hljs-number\">50<\/span>),\n    last_name <span class=\"hljs-built_in\">VARCHAR<\/span>(<span class=\"hljs-number\">50<\/span>),\n    email <span class=\"hljs-built_in\">VARCHAR<\/span>(<span class=\"hljs-number\">100<\/span>) <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">UNIQUE<\/span>,\n    phone <span class=\"hljs-built_in\">VARCHAR<\/span>(<span class=\"hljs-number\">20<\/span>)\n);\n\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">INSERT<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">INTO<\/span> contacts (first_name, last_name, email, phone)\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">VALUES<\/span>\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'John'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Doe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'john.doe@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'123-456-7890'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Jane'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Smith'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'jane.smith@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'987-654-3210'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Alice'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Doe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'alice.doe@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'555-123-4567'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Bob'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Johnson'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'bob.johnson@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'789-321-6540'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Eva'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Doe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'eva.doe@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'111-222-3333'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Michael'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Smith'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'michael.smith@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'444-555-6666'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Sophia'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Johnson'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'sophia.johnson@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'777-888-9999'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Matthew'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Doe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'matthew.doe@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'333-222-1111'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Olivia'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Smith'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'olivia.smith@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'999-888-7777'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Daniel'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Johnson'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'daniel.johnson@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'666-555-4444'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Emma'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Doe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'emma.doe@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'222-333-4444'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'William'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Smith'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'william.smith@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'888-999-0000'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Ava'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Johnson'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'ava.johnson@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'111-000-9999'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Liam'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Doe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'liam.doe@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'444-777-3333'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Mia'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Smith'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'mia.smith@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'222-444-8888'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'James'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Johnson'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'james.johnson@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'555-666-1111'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Grace'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Doe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'grace.doe@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'777-222-8888'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Benjamin'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Smith'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'benjamin.smith@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'999-111-3333'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Chloe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Johnson'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'chloe.johnson@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'111-444-7777'<\/span>),\n    (<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Logan'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Doe'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'logan.doe@email.com'<\/span>, <span class=\"hljs-string\">'333-555-9999'<\/span>);\n<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-3\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1) Delete a row example<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The following example uses the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement to delete a single row from the <code>contacts<\/code> table:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-4\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">DELETE<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span> contacts\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">WHERE<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">id<\/span> = <span class=\"hljs-number\">1<\/span>;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-4\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-5\" data-shcb-language-name=\"CSS\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"css\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-css\"><span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">Query<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">OK<\/span>, 1 <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">row<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">affected<\/span> (0<span class=\"hljs-selector-class\">.01<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">sec<\/span>)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-5\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">CSS<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">css<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>In this example, the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement deletes the row with id 1. Since the condition returns only one row, the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement deleted a single row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The output indicates that one row was deleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2) Delete multiple rows example<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The following statement retrieves the <code>contacts<\/code> with the last name <code>Smith<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-6\" data-shcb-language-name=\"JavaScript\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"javascript\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-javascript\">SELECT * FROM contacts \nWHERE last_name = <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Smith'<\/span>;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-6\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">JavaScript<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">javascript<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-7\" data-shcb-language-name=\"JavaScript\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"javascript\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-javascript\">+----+------------+-----------+--------------------------+--------------+\n| id | first_name | last_name | email                    | phone        |\n+----+------------+-----------+--------------------------+--------------+\n|  <span class=\"hljs-number\">2<\/span> | Jane       | Smith     | jane.smith@email.com     | <span class=\"hljs-number\">987<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-654<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-3210<\/span> |\n|  <span class=\"hljs-number\">6<\/span> | Michael    | Smith     | michael.smith@email.com  | <span class=\"hljs-number\">444<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-555<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-6666<\/span> |\n|  <span class=\"hljs-number\">9<\/span> | Olivia     | Smith     | olivia.smith@email.com   | <span class=\"hljs-number\">999<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-888<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-7777<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">12<\/span> | William    | Smith     | william.smith@email.com  | <span class=\"hljs-number\">888<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-999<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-0000<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">15<\/span> | Mia        | Smith     | mia.smith@email.com      | <span class=\"hljs-number\">222<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-444<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-8888<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">18<\/span> | Benjamin   | Smith     | benjamin.smith@email.com | <span class=\"hljs-number\">999<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-111<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-3333<\/span> |\n+----+------------+-----------+--------------------------+--------------+\n<span class=\"hljs-number\">6<\/span> rows <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">in<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">set<\/span> (0.00 sec)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-7\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">JavaScript<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">javascript<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>It returns 6 rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To delete these 6 rows, you can use the following <code>DELETE<\/code> statement:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-8\" data-shcb-language-name=\"JavaScript\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"javascript\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-javascript\">DELETE FROM contacts\nWHERE last_name = <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Smith'<\/span>;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-8\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">JavaScript<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">javascript<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-9\" data-shcb-language-name=\"CSS\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"css\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-css\"><span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">Query<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">OK<\/span>, 6 <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">rows<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">affected<\/span> (0<span class=\"hljs-selector-class\">.01<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">sec<\/span>)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-9\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">CSS<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">css<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>The output indicates that 6 rows were deleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3) Using MySQL DELETE statement with LIMIT clause<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The following statement retrieves the contacts and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-order-by\/\">sorts them<\/a> by first names:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-10\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">SELECT<\/span> * <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span> contacts\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">ORDER<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">BY<\/span> first_name;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-10\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-11\" data-shcb-language-name=\"JavaScript\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"javascript\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-javascript\">+----+------------+-----------+--------------------------+--------------+\n| id | first_name | last_name | email                    | phone        |\n+----+------------+-----------+--------------------------+--------------+\n|  <span class=\"hljs-number\">3<\/span> | Alice      | Doe       | alice.doe@email.com      | <span class=\"hljs-number\">555<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-123<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-4567<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">13<\/span> | Ava        | Johnson   | ava.johnson@email.com    | <span class=\"hljs-number\">111<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-000<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-9999<\/span> |\n|  <span class=\"hljs-number\">4<\/span> | Bob        | Johnson   | bob.johnson@email.com    | <span class=\"hljs-number\">789<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-321<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-6540<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">19<\/span> | Chloe      | Johnson   | chloe.johnson@email.com  | <span class=\"hljs-number\">111<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-444<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-7777<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">10<\/span> | Daniel     | Johnson   | daniel.johnson@email.com | <span class=\"hljs-number\">666<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-555<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-4444<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">11<\/span> | Emma       | Doe       | emma.doe@email.com       | <span class=\"hljs-number\">222<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-333<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-4444<\/span> |\n|  <span class=\"hljs-number\">5<\/span> | Eva        | Doe       | eva.doe@email.com        | <span class=\"hljs-number\">111<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-222<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-3333<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">17<\/span> | Grace      | Doe       | grace.doe@email.com      | <span class=\"hljs-number\">777<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-222<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-8888<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">16<\/span> | James      | Johnson   | james.johnson@email.com  | <span class=\"hljs-number\">555<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-666<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-1111<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">14<\/span> | Liam       | Doe       | liam.doe@email.com       | <span class=\"hljs-number\">444<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-777<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-3333<\/span> |\n| <span class=\"hljs-number\">20<\/span> | Logan      | Doe       | logan.doe@email.com      | <span class=\"hljs-number\">333<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-555<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-9999<\/span> |\n|  <span class=\"hljs-number\">8<\/span> | Matthew    | Doe       | matthew.doe@email.com    | <span class=\"hljs-number\">333<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-222<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-1111<\/span> |\n|  <span class=\"hljs-number\">7<\/span> | Sophia     | Johnson   | sophia.johnson@email.com | <span class=\"hljs-number\">777<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-888<\/span><span class=\"hljs-number\">-9999<\/span> |\n+----+------------+-----------+--------------------------+--------------+\n<span class=\"hljs-number\">13<\/span> rows <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">in<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">set<\/span> (0.00 sec)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-11\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">JavaScript<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">javascript<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>To delete the first three rows, you can use the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement with the <code><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-order-by\/\">ORDER BY<\/a><\/code> and <code><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-limit\/\">LIMIT<\/a><\/code> clauses:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-12\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">DELETE<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span> table_table\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">ORDER<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">BY<\/span> sort_expression\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">LIMIT<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">row_count<\/span>;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-12\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>For example, the following example uses the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement to delete the first three contacts sorted by first names:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-13\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">DELETE<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span> contacts\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">ORDER<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">BY<\/span> first_name\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">LIMIT<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-number\">3<\/span>;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-13\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-14\" data-shcb-language-name=\"CSS\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"css\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-css\"><span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">Query<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">OK<\/span>, 3 <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">rows<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">affected<\/span> (0<span class=\"hljs-selector-class\">.00<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">sec<\/span>)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-14\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">CSS<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">css<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4) Using MySQL DELETE statement to delete all rows<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The following example uses the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement without a <code>WHERE<\/code> clause to delete all rows from the <code>contacts<\/code> table:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-15\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">DELETE<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span> contacts;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-15\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-16\" data-shcb-language-name=\"CSS\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"css\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-css\"><span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">Query<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">OK<\/span>, 10 <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">rows<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">affected<\/span> (0<span class=\"hljs-selector-class\">.01<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-selector-tag\">sec<\/span>)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-16\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">CSS<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">css<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>The statement deleted all rows (10 rows) from the <code>contacts<\/code> table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you retrieve data from the <code>contacts<\/code> table, you&#8217;ll see an empty result set:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-17\" data-shcb-language-name=\"SQL (Structured Query Language)\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"sql\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-sql\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">SELECT<\/span> * <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">FROM<\/span> contacts;<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-17\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">sql<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-18\" data-shcb-language-name=\"JavaScript\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"javascript\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-javascript\">Empty <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">set<\/span> (0.00 sec)<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-18\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">JavaScript<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">javascript<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement to delete one or more rows from a table.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement without a <code>WHERE<\/code> clause to delete all rows from a table.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use the <code>DELETE<\/code> statement with a <code>LIMIT<\/code> clause to delete several rows from a table.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"helpful-block-content\" data-title=\"\">\n\t<header>\n\t\t<div class=\"wth-question\">Was this tutorial helpful? <\/div>\n\t\t<div 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Introduction to MySQL DELETE statement The DELETE statement allows you to delete rows from a table and returns the number of deleted rows. Here&#8217;s the basic syntax of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":174,"menu_order":62,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13769","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MySQL DELETE Statement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This tutorial shows you how to use MySQL DELETE statement to delete rows from a table and return the number of deleted rows.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-delete\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MySQL 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