what is the meaning of softdelete in laravel code example

Example 1: laravel soft delete

/** in migrations this changes need to
    add for table we want to add soft delete (LARAVEL)*/

	/** The migrations. START */
	public function up()
	{
		Schema::table('users', function(Blueprint $table)
		{
			$table->softDeletes();
		});
	}
	/** The migrations. END */

	/** after adding softdelete you need to
    point that column in table related model (LARAVEL)*/

	/** The Model. START */
  	use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes;
  	class User extends Model {
	  use SoftDeletes;
	  protected $dates = ['deleted_at'];
	}
	/** The Model. END */

Example 2: laravel soft delete

$flights = Flight::where('active', 1)
               ->orderBy('name')
               ->take(10)
               ->get();