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
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.
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
The UK said it will send a destroyer to the Middle East ahead of any international mission to help protect shipping in the key Strait of Hormuz.
From Barron's • May 9, 2026
The Touska was sailing to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas when it was warned repeatedly over a six hours by the USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, that it was violating the blockade, U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
The Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Dragon, is now providing additional air defences operating off the coast of Cyprus.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
“Isn’t that the Manifestor that might stop the destroyer person?”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
