destroyer
Americannoun
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a person or thing that destroys.
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a fast, relatively small, warship armed mainly with 5-inch (13-centimeter) guns.
noun
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a small fast lightly armoured but heavily armed warship
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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
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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.
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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
Under the plan, HMS Dragon - the air defence destroyer that is already on its way to the Middle East - will also "be ready for any mission" to secure the strait, the MoD said.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
France has sent its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the region, and the UK on Saturday said it was sending a destroyer, HMS Dragon.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
At last, a miraculous cable arrived from John, pronouncing himself “safe and sound” aboard a British destroyer.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Chinese destroyers sailing past those bases today could, in war, be tasked with striking and destroying them, said Koh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
That has dropped to seven frigates, external and six destroyers, external.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
And I look at those ships, they came with the destroyers alongside of them, and man.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
The troops are requisitioned, the destroyers in place, the full moon just right, the secrecy of the invasion delicate.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
I thought that when two American destroyers arrived, along with die Dutch cruiser Van Kingsbergen, to protect the lake tankers, Mother would change her mind.
From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
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.
