Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

destroy

 - 3 dictionary results
"How do I get organized?"
Your personalized system is here - With expert guidance, it's simple!
Try.OrganizeYourselfOnline.com

de⋅stroy

  [di-stroi]
Use destroy in a Sentence
–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.
3. to kill; slay.
4. to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.
5. to defeat completely.
–verb (used without object)
6. to engage in destruction.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME destroyen < OF destruire < VL *dēstrūgere, for L dēstruere (dē- de- + struere to pick up, build)

Related forms:
de⋅stroy⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
1. smash, level, waste, ravage, devastate. 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. 2. extirpate, annihilate, uproot.

Antonyms:
1, 2. create.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To destroy
"How do I get organized?"
Your personalized system is here - With expert guidance, it's simple!
Try.OrganizeYourselfOnline.com
de·stroy   (dĭ-stroi')   
v.   de·stroyed, de·stroy·ing, de·stroys

v.   tr.

  1. To ruin completely; spoil: The ancient manuscripts were destroyed by fire.

  2. To tear down or break up; demolish. See Synonyms at ruin.

  3. To do away with; put an end to: "In crowded populations, poverty destroys the possibility of cleanliness" (George Bernard Shaw).

  4. To kill: destroy a rabid dog.

  5. To subdue or defeat completely; crush: The rebel forces were destroyed in battle.

  6. To render useless or ineffective: destroyed the testimony of the prosecution's chief witness.

v.   intr.
To be destructive; cause destruction: "Too much money destroys as surely as too little" (John Simon).

[Middle English destroien, from Old French destruire, from Vulgar Latin *dēstrūgere, back-formation from Latin dēstrūctus, past participle of dēstruere, to destroy : dē-, de- + struere, to pile up; see ster-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

destroy 
c.1225, from O.Fr. destruire, from V.L. *destrugerie (infl. by destructos), from L. destruere "tear down, demolish," lit. "un-build," from de- "un-, down" + struere "to pile, build" (see structure). A naval destroyer was originally a "torpedo boat destroyer," though the name comes specifically from the proper name given to one such ship in the U.S. Navy in 1882.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see destroy on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way