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
- self-destroyer noun
Etymology
Origin of destroyer
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English destroiere (compare Old French destruiere ); destroy, -er 1
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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 Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Dragon, is now providing additional air defences operating off the coast of Cyprus.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
The U.S. sent a P-8A Poseidon spy plane but elected not to send a destroyer as it had in the past.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
He said the Type 45 destroyer would leave "in the next few days, as soon as it's got ammunition on board" but did not say how long it would take to arrive in the Mediterranean.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
Then an RAF base in Cyprus came under Iranian drone attack anyway, so Mr. Starmer deployed a Royal Navy destroyer to defend it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
But words were the atoms in my father’s universe, and he was their destroyer and their creator.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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.
