This is what relative line numbers are useful for. Not so useful for a delete word action, though. If I'm deleting a set of words though that's when something like leap, sneak, etc. can be useful, since it's a bit more descriptive than the t, T, f, and F motions, which will only go to the next instance of that character. You could do something like d/term<CR> to delete to a search term, though.