Definitions for destroy
dɪˈstrɔɪde·stroy

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. destroy, destructverb

   do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of

   "The fire destroyed the house"

2. destroy, ruinverb

   destroy completely; damage irreparably

   "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up"

3. demolish, destroyverb

   defeat soundly

   "The home team demolished the visitors"

4. destroy, put downverb

   put (an animal) to death

   "The customs agents destroyed the dog that was found to be rabid"; "the sick cat had to be put down"

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. destroyverb

   To cause destruction.

   Hooligans destroy unprovoked

2. destroyverb

   To neutralize, undo a property or condition.

   Smoking destroys the natural subtlety of the palate

3. destroyverb

   To put down or euthanize.

   Destroying a rabid dog is required by law.

4. destroyverb

   To defeat soundly.

5. destroyverb

   To remove data.

   The memory leak happened because we forgot to destroy the temporary lists.

6. Etymology: destroyen, from destruire,, from Classical destruo, from de- + struo.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To DESTROYverb

   Etymology: destruo, Latin; destruire, French.

   1. To overturn a city; to raze a building; to ruin.

   The lord will destroy this city. Gen. xix. 14.

   2. To lay waste; to make desolate.

   Solyman sent a great part of his army out of the main unto the island, which burnt and destroyed the country villages. Richard Knolles, History of the Turks.

   3. To kill.

   A people, great and many, and tall as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them, and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead. Deutr. ii. 21.

   ’Tis safer to be that which we destroy,
   Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   The wise providence hath placed a certain antipathy between some animals and many insects, whereby they delight in their destruction, though they use them not as food; as the peacock destroys snakes and adders; the weasel, mice and rats; spiders, flies; and some sorts of flies destroy spiders. Matthew Hale.

   4. To put an end to; to bring to nought.

   Do we not see that slothful, intemperate and incontinent persons destroy their bodies with diseases, their reputations with disgrace, and their faculties with want? Richard Bentley.

   There will be as many sovereigns as fathers: the mother too hath her title, which destroys the sovereignty of one supreme monarch. John Locke.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. destroy

   The general definition of "destroy" is to cause extensive damage, ruin, or render something completely nonfunctional or unusable.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Destroyverb

   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

2. Destroyverb

   to ruin; to bring to naught; to put an end to; to annihilate; to consume

3. Destroyverb

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

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Destroy

   Destroy! was an American crust punk band from Minneapolis from 1988 to 1994. Vocalist Felix Havoc founded Havoc Records in 1992 as a vehicle for Destroy!'s Burn this Racist System Down 7" EP.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Destroy

   de-stroy′, v.i. to unbuild or pull down: to overturn: to ruin: to put an end to:—pr.p. destroy′ing:—pa.p. destroyed′.—n. Destroy′er. [O. Fr. destruire (Fr. détruire)—L. destruĕre, destructum—de, down, and struĕre, to build.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. destroy

   Song lyrics by destroy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by destroy on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Kill

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'destroy' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4472

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'destroy' in Verbs Frequency: #334

How to pronounce destroy?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say destroy in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of destroy in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of destroy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of destroy in a Sentence

1. Frank Herbert, Dune:

   Humans live best when each has a place to stand, when each knows where he belongs in the scheme of things and what he may achieve. Destroy the place and you destroy the person.

2. Frank Herbert, Dune:

   Humans live best when each has his place, when each knows where he belongs in the scheme of things. Destroy the place and destroy the person.

3. Erich Fromm:

   That man can destroy life is just as miraculous a feat as that he can create it, for life is the miracle, the inexplicable. In the act of destruction, man sets himself above life he transcends himself as a creature. Thus, the ultimate choice for a man, inasmuch as he is driven to transcend himself, is to create or to destroy, to love or to hate.

4. George Pataki:

   I don't want to see us putting in a million soldiers, spend 10 years, a trillion dollars, trying to create a democracy where one hasn't existed, but send in troops, destroy their training centers, destroy their recruitment centers, destroy the area where they are looking to plan to attack us here and then get out.

5. Chris Hedges:

   We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy the economy.

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