destroyer
Americannoun
-
destroyers
plural
-
a person or thing that destroys.
-
a fast, relatively small, warship armed mainly with 5-inch (13-centimeter) guns.
noun
-
a small fast lightly armoured but heavily armed warship
-
a person or thing that destroys
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of destroyer
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English destroiere (compare Old French destruiere ); see destroy, -er 1
Compare meaning
How does destroyer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Vocabulary lists containing destroyer
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He added that the escort destroyer ships policing the blockade of Iran “are just as bad off, if not worse.”
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
That impression was not helped by the tardiness of mobilising the destroyer HMS Dragon – built by BAE - to provide air cover for Cyprus against Iranian and Hezbollah threats.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
This motley pile, big enough to man a destroyer, is working together to literally support their sister’s audacious rise.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
The battleship, which officials have said would weigh 30,000-40,000 tons, is expected to be up to four times the size of a modern destroyer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Shouts of agreement arose and I looked behind me, seeing the men who had followed me and thinking, What did he mean, destroyer?
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
“As long as mankind shall continue to bestow more liberal applause on their destroyers than on their benefactors,” he reflected, “the thirst of military glory will ever be the vice of the most exalted characters.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Meanwhile, the U.K. recently said it would build vessels designed to act as mother ships to drones instead of replacing its fleet of destroyers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The Royal Navy's ageing but capable Type 45 destroyers will no longer be replaced by the planned Type 83 destroyers.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
And I look at those ships, they came with the destroyers alongside of them, and man.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Like Stockdale, he’d come away unconvinced the American destroyers were under attack.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
