destroy
verb/dɪˈstɹɔɪ/
Etymology From Middle English destroyen, from Old French destruire, Vulgar Latin *destrugō, from Classical Latin dēstruō, from dē- (“un-, de-”) + struō (“to build”).
10 senses
- 1To damage beyond use or repair; to damage (something) to…
- 2To neutralize, undo a property or condition.
- 3To put down or euthanize.
- 4To severely disrupt the well-being of (a person); ruin.
- 5To utterly defeat; to crush.
- 6To remove data.
- 7To exhaust completely and thus recreate or build up.
- 8To penetrate sexually in an aggressive way.
- 9To sing a song extremely poorly.
- 10To eat food quickly, hungrily or completely.
1
Ambitransitive To damage beyond use or repair; to damage (something) to the point that it effectively ceases to exist.
- The earthquake destroyed several apartment complexes.
- Hooligans destroy unprovoked.
3 more examples
- Iesus answered, and said vnto them, Destroy this temple, and in three dayes I will raise it vp.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 2:19:
- Repeated use of this type of [water] on plants results in deflocculation[] of the soil. Good quality soil consists of loose aggregates which provide natural aeration and ease of root run. Sodium accumulation in soil destroys this natural flocculation and causes the soil to pack.1972 November 5, Joan Lee Faust, “AROUND THE Garden”, in The New York Times:
- Krav is a martial art of last resort that assumes no quarter and focuses purely on disarming, disabling and, if necessary, destroying your opponent.2013, Steven McLaughlin, Clubland UK: On the Door in the Rave Era:
2
To neutralize, undo a property or condition.
- Smoking destroys the natural subtlety of the palate.
3
To put down or euthanize.
- Destroying a rabid dog is required by law.
4
To severely disrupt the well-being of (a person); ruin.
- Her divorce destroyed her; she had a nervous breakdown and was severely depressed for more than a year.
- Other girls in the foster home are eager to destroy her and get her kicked out of the place. It's a tough situation.2005, Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide:
5
Informal To utterly defeat; to crush.
- Remember when Germany destroyed Brazil 7–1 in the World Cup?
- Growing up, [Kevin] Durant told me, he was a sore loser. That all changed one day when he was 11, after he got destroyed by his father in a game of one on one in the driveway.2012 November 11, Sam Anderson, “The Oklahoma City Thunder's Fairy-Tale Rise”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2023:
6
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To remove data.
- The memory leak happened because we forgot to destroy the temporary lists.
7
Bodybuilding, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Slang To exhaust completely and thus recreate or build up.
- This exercise is going to destroy all parts of your shoulders.
- She got destroyed by her lover on the carpet.
- JAMES CARTER: The man's destroying a classic!2001, Jeff Nathanson, Rush Hour 2, New Line Cinema:
10
Slang To eat food quickly, hungrily or completely.
- I could destroy some wings right now.
- Synonyms
56 terms
annihilate, break, demolish, kill, ruin, waste, destroy, aerosolize, atomize, benothing, bewreck, blot out, blotto, dash, decompose, desolate, devastate, diffuse, disintegrate, disperse, dissolve, eliminate, eradicate, erase, exterminate, extinguish, extirpate, fordo, fuck, harry, jazz, lay waste, level, liquidate, nuke, obliterate, overthrow, overturn, pull down, pulverize, race, raze, ravage, ravel, remove, ruinate, stamp out, total, subvert, unbreed, unexist, unmake, uproot, wipe out, wipe off, wreck- Derived terms
- destroyability, destroyable, destroyal, Destroy Dick December, destroyed jeans, destroyer, destroyer escort, destroying angel, destroyingly, downstroy, redestroy, undestroy, undestroyed
- Related terms
- destruct, destructible, destruction, destructive
- Hyponyms
- incinerate