Havoc definition
Widespread destruction; devastation.
noun
To destroy or pillage.
verb
Great destruction and devastation, as that resulting from hurricanes, wars, etc.
noun
(obs.) To lay waste; devastate.
verb
Disorder or chaos.
A wild party that created havoc in the house.
noun
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- 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The People that Time Forgot, edition HTML, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008.But when I had come to that part of the city which I judged to have contained the relics I sought I found havoc that had been wrought there even greater than elsewhere.
noun
To cause havoc.
verb
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Havoc is defined as a lot of destruction or chaos.
An example of havoc is the damage from a hurricane.
noun
cry havoc
- to give (an army) the signal for pillaging
- to warn of great, impending danger
idiom
play havoc with
- to devastate; destroy; ruin
idiom
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
play havoc with
Origin of havoc
- Middle English havok from Anglo-Norman (crier) havok (to cry) havoc variant of Old French havot plundering of Germanic origin
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Anglo-Norman havok in the phrase crier havok (“cry havoc”) a signal to soldiers to seize plunder, from Old French crier (“cry out, shout”) + havot (“pillaging, looting”).
From Wiktionary