The Small Delete Register

"- — for charwise deletes that wouldn't be worth a numbered slot.

Keys: "-

When you make a small charwise delete (less than a line, no newline), the deleted text goes into "-, leaving the numbered registers untouched.

x, dw on a tiny word, r{c} replacing one character — none of these should clobber your last big delete in "1. So Vim diverts them to "-, the small delete register.

See also: Registers, Numbered Registers, The Unnamed Register