Destroy dictionary definition

+ Add to Word List

More...

destroy

[di stro̵i′]

verb

To destroy is defined as to damage, ruin or spoil something beyond repair.
When you drive a truck into a house and totally demolish it, this is an example of a situation where you destroy the house.

This house has been destroyed.

destroy

transitive verb

to tear down; demolish
to break up or spoil completely; ruin
to bring to total defeat; crush
to put an end to; do away with
to kill
to neutralize the effect of
to make useless

Origin of destroy

Middle English destroien ; from Old French destruire ; from Classical Latin destruere ; from de-, down + struere, to build: see structure

intransitive verb

to bring about destruction

destroy

verb

de·stroyed, de·stroy·ing, de·stroys

verb

, transitive

To break apart the structure of, render physically unusable, or cause to cease to exist as a distinguishable physical entity: The fire destroyed the library. The tumor was destroyed with a laser.
To put an end to; eliminate: “In crowded populations, poverty destroys the possibility of cleanliness” (George Bernard Shaw).
To render useless or ruin: felt that an overemphasis on theory had destroyed the study of literature.
To put to death; kill: destroy a rabid dog.
To subdue or defeat completely; crush: The rebel forces were destroyed in battle.
To cause emotional trauma to; devastate: The divorce destroyed him.

verb

, intransitive

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

Origin of destroy

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.

destroy

Verb

(third-person singular simple present destroys, present participle destroying, simple past and past participle destroyed)

To damage beyond use or repair.
The earthquake destroyed several apartment complexes.
(intransitive) To cause destruction.
Hooligans destroy unprovoked
To neutralize, undo a property or condition.
Smoking destroys the natural subtlety of the palate
To put down or euthanize.
Destroying a rabid dog is required by law.
(colloquial) To defeat soundly.
(computing) To remove data.
The memory leak happened because we forgot to destroy the temporary lists.

Antonyms

Related terms

Origin

Middle English destroyen, from Old French destruire, Vulgar Latin *destrugō, from Classical Latin dēstruō, from dē- (“un-, de-”) + struō (“I build”). Displaced native Old English shend (“destroy, injure”).