DELETE
/
dictionaries
/
term
/
{dictionary_id}
/
{term_id}
Delete Dictionary Term
curl --request DELETE \
  --url https://client.camb.ai/apis/dictionaries/term/{dictionary_id}/{term_id} \
  --header 'x-api-key: <api-key>'
{
  "message": "<string>",
  "status": "<string>"
}
Deleting individual terms from dictionaries represents a fundamentally different operation from deleting entire dictionaries, though both share the characteristic of permanent data removal. When you delete a term, you’re performing linguistic surgery - carefully removing specific content while preserving the broader dictionary structure and all other terms that users and applications depend upon.

​
The Architecture of Precise Removal

The endpoint’s design emphasizes surgical precision through its dual-parameter approach, requiring you to specify both the dictionary context and the exact term to be removed. This two-level targeting system prevents the kind of broad, accidental deletions that could damage valuable linguistic resources while ensuring that removal operations affect exactly the content you intend to eliminate.

​
The Permanence Factor in Term Deletion

Like dictionary deletion, term deletion is permanent and irreversible, but the scope of impact differs significantly. When you delete a term, you’re removing not just the source language entry, but all associated translations, usage examples, metadata, and any other linguistic information connected to that term concept. This comprehensive removal ensures that no orphaned data remains in the system, but it also means that recovery requires rebuilding the entire term entry from scratch.

​
Quality Considerations in Term Removal

Consider how term deletion might affect users who have grown accustomed to finding specific terminology in your dictionary. Applications that cache dictionary content might need updates to reflect the removal, and any bookmarks or saved references to the deleted term will become invalid. Understanding these downstream effects helps you plan term deletion operations as part of broader dictionary maintenance strategies rather than isolated removal actions.

Authorizations

​
x-api-key
string
header
required

The x-api-key is a custom header required for authenticating requests to our API. Include this header in your request with the appropriate API key value to securely access our endpoints. You can find your API key(s) in the 'API' section of our studio website.

Path Parameters

​
dictionary_id
integer
required

This parameter tells the API exactly which dictionary you're interested in. Each dictionary in the system has a unique numerical ID that serves as its primary identifier.

​
term_id
integer
required

The unique identifier of the term. This must be a positive integer that corresponds to an existing term in the system.

Required range: x > 0

Response

Successful Response

​
message
string

Human-readable feedback that communicates the outcome of the dictionary operation with actionable context for your application users. This message provides essential information about operation success, partial completion scenarios, or guidance for addressing any issues that occurred during processing.

​
status
string

Standardized operation outcome indicator that enables programmatic response handling across all dictionary management workflows. This status field provides consistent, machine-readable confirmation of operation results, allowing your application logic to branch appropriately between success scenarios, partial completion cases, and error conditions.