destruct

American  

[dih-struhkt] / dɪˈstrʌkt /

adjective

1. serving or designed to destroy.

   a destruct mechanism on a missile.

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noun

1. the act or process of intentional destruction.

   One out of ten launchings ended in destructs.

verb (used with object)

1. to destroy.

verb (used without object)

1. to be destroyed.

destruct British  

/ dɪˈstrʌkt /

verb

1. to destroy (one's own missile or rocket) for safety

2. (intr) (of a missile or rocket) to be destroyed, for safety, by those controlling it; self-destruct

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noun

1. the act of destructing

adjective

1. designed to be capable of destroying itself or the object, system, or installation containing it

   destruct mechanism

Etymology

Origin of destruct

First recorded in 1630–40; back formation from destruction

Example Sentences

Lincoln Riley needs a laminated, and larger, play card that doesn’t self destruct, along with his team, in bad weather.

From Los Angeles Times

"It would be wrong now to say we want to react and destruct. This is not in the team. We are not a team that wants to destruct."

From BBC

No doubt Arteta will self destruct at some point this season.

From BBC

“Because it is not possible to put the rocket into the planned orbit, we sent a destruct signal to the rocket,” minutes later at 10:51 a.m.

From Washington Post

“A destruct command has been transmitted to H3 because there was no possibility of achieving the mission,” the announcer said on the webcast.

From New York Times