The fastest way to delete multiple rows at once

Select all the rows you want to delete by clicking the row number of the first row, then holding Shift and clicking the row number of the last row. Right-click anywhere in the selected rows and choose "Delete" from the menu. Excel removes those rows and shifts everything below them up to fill the gap. This works whether the rows are next to each other or scattered throughout your sheet.

If your rows are scattered (not consecutive), click the first row number, then hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each additional row number you want to delete. Once all rows are highlighted in blue, right-click and select "Delete". The same shift-up happens automatically.

Key Takeaways

  • Click a row number to select the entire row, then Shift-click another row number to select a range of consecutive rows at once.
  • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd) and click individual row numbers to select rows that are not next to each other, then delete them all together.
  • Right-click the selected rows and choose "Delete" — do not use the Delete key, which only clears the contents and leaves empty rows behind.
  • Deleted rows shift up automatically; rows below the deletion move into the space left behind.
  • If you delete rows by mistake, press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z) when ready to undo and restore them.

Why clicking row numbers matters, not cell contents

When you click inside a cell and press Delete, Excel only clears what is written in that cell — the row itself stays in your sheet as an empty line. This leaves gaps in your data and throws off any formulas that count rows or reference specific row numbers. Deleting the row itself removes the entire line from the sheet.

Always click the row number on the left side of the sheet (the gray column with 1, 2, 3, and so on) to select the whole row. You will see the entire row turn blue when it is selected. Then delete. This is the only way to remove the row completely.

Selecting consecutive rows with Shift-click

Click the row number of the first row you want to delete. The row highlights in blue. Now hold Shift and click the row number of the last row in the range. Excel selects every row from the first one to the last one, all highlighted in blue at the same time.

For example, if you want to delete rows 5 through 12, click the "5" on the left, hold Shift, and click the "12". All eight rows light up. Right-click any of the selected rows and choose "Delete". All eight rows disappear at once, and row 13 becomes the new row 5.

Selecting scattered rows with Ctrl-click

If the rows you want to delete are not next to each other, use Ctrl-click (Cmd-click on Mac) instead. Click the first row number. Then hold Ctrl and click each additional row number. Each one you click adds to your selection without removing the previous ones.

Say you want to delete rows 3, 7, and 15. Click row 3, hold Ctrl, click row 7, keep holding Ctrl, and click row 15. All three rows are now highlighted. Right-click and select "Delete". Excel removes all three rows and shifts the remaining rows up to close the gaps. The order does not matter — you can click them in any sequence.

What happens after you delete rows

Every row below the deleted rows moves up to fill the space. If you delete rows 5 through 8, then row 9 becomes row 5, row 10 becomes row 6, and so on. Any formulas that reference rows by number (like "sum rows 10 through 20") automatically adjust to point to the new row numbers.

This is why deleting rows is different from just clearing their contents. If you clear row 5 but leave the row in place, row 6 stays as row 6. If you delete row 5, row 6 becomes row 5. This matters when you have formulas or when you are trying to clean up a sheet that has grown messy with empty lines.

Undoing a deletion if you change your mind

If you delete rows and when ready realize you made a mistake, press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) right away. Excel restores the rows exactly as they were, with all their contents and formatting intact. This works as long as you have not made other changes since the deletion.

The undo history in Excel goes back multiple steps, so you can undo several actions in a row if needed. However, once you close the file without saving, you cannot undo anything. If you are about to delete a large number of rows and you are not completely sure, save a copy of the file first under a different name, then delete from the original.

Deleting rows in a filtered or sorted sheet

If your sheet is filtered (showing only certain rows based on a condition), deleting rows removes only the visible ones. The hidden rows stay in place. This is useful when you want to delete only rows that match a certain criteria — filter first, then delete the visible results.

If your sheet is sorted, deleting rows removes them from the sorted order. The sort itself does not change, but the rows that were below the deleted ones move up. Make sure you understand what the sort is doing before you delete, so you do not accidentally remove rows you meant to keep.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Delete and Delete Cells?

Right-clicking a selected row and choosing "Delete" removes the entire row and shifts rows below it up. The "Delete Cells" option (which appears when you right-click a cell range instead of a row number) only clears the contents or shifts cells within the same row. Always use "Delete" when you want to remove entire rows.

Can I delete rows in the middle of a formula without breaking it?

Excel adjusts most formulas automatically when you delete rows. If a formula references a specific row number that you delete, that reference disappears and may cause an error. If a formula sums a range (like rows 5 through 20) and you delete row 10, the formula now sums rows 5 through 19 instead. Test your formulas after deleting rows to make sure they still calculate what you intended.

How do I delete rows based on a condition, like all rows where a column is empty?

Use the AutoFilter feature: click any cell in your data, go to the Data menu, and select AutoFilter. Click the dropdown arrow in the column header and uncheck "Blanks" to hide empty rows, or check only "Blanks" to show only empty rows. Then select and delete the visible rows. When you remove the filter, the hidden rows reappear (or disappear, depending on what you filtered for).

Will deleting rows affect my column headers?

No, unless your headers are in one of the rows you delete. Row 1 is just a regular row — if you select and delete it, your headers disappear. If your headers are in row 1 and you want to delete data rows below them, start your selection from row 2, not row 1.

Can I delete rows from multiple sheets at the same time?

No. You must delete rows one sheet at a time. Click the sheet tab at the bottom, delete the rows you want from that sheet, then click the next sheet tab and repeat. There is no way to delete the same row number from multiple sheets in a single action.