destroy
verb (used with object)
to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.
destroyed
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past participleof destroy.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof destroy.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
destroyverb (used with object)to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.
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.
Subsequent storms have destroyed its iron frame even further.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
The Russian target—an ammunition and drone depot—was still destroyed, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
“They destroyed everything,” Rincón’s son, Juan Diego Rincón, said in a phone interview from Panama.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
There was the Norte fire last week that destroyed seven structures in Orange County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
If the bear could not be destroyed, all this would be lost.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
