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destroy - 4 dictionary results

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.
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Link To destroy

de·stroy (dĭ-stroi')

v. de·stroyed, de·stroy·ing, de·stroys

v. tr.

To ruin completely; spoil: The ancient manuscripts were destroyed by fire.
To tear down or break up; demolish. See Synonyms at ruin.
To do away with; put an end to: "In crowded populations, poverty destroys the possibility of cleanliness" (George Bernard Shaw).
To kill: destroy a rabid dog.
To subdue or defeat completely; crush: The rebel forces were destroyed in battle.
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.
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Destroy

De*stroy"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Destroyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Destroying.] [OE. destroien, destruien, destrien, OF. destruire, F. d['e]truire, fr. L. destruere, destructum; de + struere to pile up, build. See Structure.]

1. To unbuild; to pull or tear down; to separate virulently into its constituent parts; to break up the structure and organic existence of; to demolish.

But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves. --Ex. xxxiv. 13.

2. To ruin; to bring to naught; to put an end to; to annihilate; to consume.

I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation. --Jer. xii. 17.

3. To put an end to the existence, prosperity, or beauty of; to kill.

If him by force he can destroy, or, worse, By some false guile pervert. --Milton.

Syn: To demolish; lay waste; consume; raze; dismantle; ruin; throw down; overthrow; subvert; desolate; devastate; deface; extirpate; extinguish; kill; slay. See Demolish.

Language Translation for : destroy

Spanish: destruir,

German: zerstören,

Japanese: 破壊する

More Translations »

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.

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