destroy

[ dih-stroi ]
See synonyms for: destroydestroyeddestroyingdestroys on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.

  2. to put an end to; extinguish.

  1. to kill; slay.

  2. to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.

  3. to defeat completely.

verb (used without object)
  1. to engage in destruction.

Origin of destroy

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English destroyen, from Old French destruire, from Vulgar Latin dēstrūgere (unattested), for Latin dēstruere (dē- de- + struere “to pick up, build”)

synonym study For destroy

1. Destroy, demolish, raze imply reducing a thing to uselessness. To destroy is to reduce something to nothingness or to take away its powers and functions so that restoration is impossible: Fire destroys a building. Disease destroys tissues. To demolish is to destroy something organized or structured: to demolish a machine. To raze is to level down to the ground: to raze a fortress.

word story For destroy

See decimate.

Other words for destroy

Opposites for destroy

Other words from destroy

  • de·stroy·a·ble, adjective
  • half-de·stroyed, adjective
  • pre·de·stroy, verb (used with object)
  • self-de·stroyed, adjective
  • self-de·stroy·ing, adjective
  • un·de·stroyed, adjective
  • well-de·stroyed, adjective

Words that may be confused with destroy

Words Nearby destroy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use destroy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for destroy

destroy

/ (dɪˈstrɔɪ) /


verb(mainly tr)
  1. to ruin; spoil; render useless

  2. to tear down or demolish; break up; raze

  1. to put an end to; do away with; extinguish

  2. to kill or annihilate

  3. to crush, subdue, or defeat

  4. (intr) to be destructive or cause destruction

Origin of destroy

1
C13: from Old French destruire, from Latin dēstruere to pull down, from de- + struere to pile up, build

Derived forms of destroy

  • destroyable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012