How to Delete Items in the Search Drop Down

By Xander James

The search box on Google and other search engines displays suggestions from your previous searches and other relevant queries. You may want to delete search items to removed unwanted queries from your computer. When you delete items in a search engine drop down, you are deleting items stored by your browser history, not by that search engine. Deleting past search items in the search down box is simple; however, it varies slightly between Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome and Firefox.

Internet Explorer 8

Step 1

Click the "Safety" menu on the far-right side of your browser's tab bar.

Step 2

Select "Delete Browsing History" from the drop-down menu.

Step 3

The {Delete Browsing History" window pops up. Place a check mark next to "History" and any other files that you want to delete. Click the "Delete" button.

Safari 4

Step 1

Click the "History" tab at the top of the screen.

Step 2

Click on the very last option, "Clear History."

Step 3

Alternately, you can clear the Google drop-down menu from your browser by clicking the arrow next to the magnifying glass and selecting "Clear Recent Searches."

Chrome

Step 1

Mac users, select "Chrome" and then "Clear Browsing Data" on the menu bar. Place a check mark next to the types of information you wish to remove.

Step 2

Use the "Clear data from this period" menu to select the amount of data you want to delete. Click "Clear Browsing Data."

Step 3

Windows users, click the "Tools" menu and select "Options." Click the "Personal Stuff" tab.

Step 4

Click "Clear browsing data." Place a check mark next to the types of information you wish to remove.

Step 5

Use the "Clear data from this period" menu to select the amount of data you want to delete. Click "Clear Browsing Data."

Firefox 3.5

Step 1

Select the "Tools" menu. Then click "Clear Recent History."

Step 2

Select a time range to clear. You can clear your searches from the last hour, or you can clear all of your search history.

Step 3

Click the down arrow and select the types of information you want to remove. Click "Clear Now."