Definition of DESTROY

destroy

Verb

Verb Forms: destroyed, destroying, destroys

  • To put an end to the existence of; ruin.
  • do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of
    • "The fire destroyed the house"
  • destroy completely; damage irreparably
  • defeat soundly
  • put (an animal) to death
    • "The customs agents destroyed the dog that was found to be rabid"
  • To damage beyond use or repair; to damage (something) to the point that it effectively ceases to exist.
  • To neutralize, undo a property or condition.
  • To put down or euthanize.
  • To severely disrupt the well-being of (a person); ruin.
  • To utterly defeat; to crush.
  • To remove data.
  • To exhaust completely and thus recreate or build up.
  • To penetrate sexually in an aggressive way.
  • To sing a song extremely poorly.
  • To eat food quickly, hungrily or completely.

Examples

  • Destroying a rabid dog is required by law.
  • Her divorce destroyed her; she had a nervous breakdown and was severely depressed for more than a year.
  • Hooligans destroy unprovoked.
  • One poorly placed word can DESTROY a carefully planned strategy.
  • Remember when Germany destroyed Brazil 7–1 in the World Cup?
  • She got destroyed by her lover on the carpet.
  • Smoking destroys the natural subtlety of the palate.
  • The earthquake destroyed several apartment complexes.
  • The memory leak happened because we forgot to destroy the temporary lists.
  • This exercise is going to destroy all parts of your shoulders.

Origin / Etymology

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

Scrabble Score: 11

destroy: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
destroy: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
destroy: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

destroy: valid Words With Friends Word