Trash icon

When to use it

Use the trash can for destructive deletion the user can understand as throwing away — and reach for an X or minus instead when the action merely removes an item from a list without destroying it. If deletion is recoverable, say so next to the icon; the can alone reads as permanent. Lucide and Feather's trash-2 variant adds inner ribs, which survives better below 20px than the plain lid-and-body drawing.

Reach for the trash can for destructive deletion the user can picture as throwing something away — deleting a file, a record, an account. It reads as permanent, so if the delete is recoverable, say so beside it. Use the X or minus instead when you are merely removing an item from a list or clearing a field without destroying anything, since the can overstates the stakes of a simple 'remove'.

• Reaching for Close? Reach for the X to remove a chip, clear a field, or dismiss — a non-destructive removal, not deletion.
• Reaching for Archive? Reach for the archive box when the item is filed away and recoverable rather than destroyed.