destroyer
Americannoun
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destroyers
plural
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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
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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
The destroyer had sailed to the area alongside two other Chinese naval vessels and a Russian frigate, the ministry said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The navigation effort has largely happened at night, with ships turning off their automatic identification systems while a U.S. destroyer stays in live radio contact with the bridge and the shipowner’s operations center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Plans to replace ageing destroyer warships will be scrapped in favour of at least six new modern "hybrid" vessels equipped to deploy drones in the UK's upcoming defence plan.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Together they saw the tragedy and humiliation of their Table, from which no man was willing to save them— knew that the Queen of it was called, by common breath, a destroyer of good knights.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
He said the eight sailors included "the Lincoln crew and sailors from the carrier airwing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The Zumwalt class of naval destroyers was lauded for its “affordable and flexible design.”
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The Pentagon sent two Navy guided-missile destroyers through Hormuz in April at the height of the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Navy currently has 17 ships in the Middle East, including two aircraft-carrier strike groups, along with their 11 combined destroyers and a Marine Corps expeditionary unit, according to a naval official.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“It shows that these people are destroyers of things.”
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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