Does the "Delete" in privacy policies actually mean delete?

I’m currently reading a privacy policy for a big box store, and it claims that they will “delete x information if you submit a deletion request” (paraphrase). However, they don’t seem to define “delete” anywhere, so I would not put it above an American corporation to place a “deleted” label on the data instead of permanently removing it. Is “delete” such a well defined term that there is no need for a definition? If so, what does it mean?