destroy
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
- Antonyms:
- create
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to put an end to; extinguish.
- Synonyms:
- uproot, annihilate, extirpate
- Antonyms:
- create
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to kill; slay.
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to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.
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to defeat completely.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to ruin; spoil; render useless
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to tear down or demolish; break up; raze
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to put an end to; do away with; extinguish
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to kill or annihilate
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to crush, subdue, or defeat
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(intr) to be destructive or cause destruction
Synonym Usage
Destroy, demolish, raze imply reducing a thing to uselessness. To destroy is to reduce something to nothingness or to take away its powers and functions so that restoration is impossible: Fire destroys a building. Disease destroys tissues. To demolish is to destroy something organized or structured: to demolish a machine. To raze is to level down to the ground: to raze a fortress.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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predestroyverb (used with object)
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destroyableadjective
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half-destroyedadjective
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self-destroyedadjective
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self-destroyingadjective
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undestroyedadjective
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well-destroyedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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destroysimple
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destroyssimple
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have destroyedperfect
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has destroyedperfect
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am destroyingprogressive
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are destroyingprogressive
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is destroyingprogressive
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have been destroyingperfect progressive
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has been destroyingperfect progressive
Past
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destroyedsimple
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had destroyedperfect
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was destroyingprogressive
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were destroyingprogressive
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had been destroyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of destroy
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English destroyen, from Old French destruire, from Vulgar Latin dēstrūgere (unattested), for Latin dēstruere ( dē- de- + struere “to pick up, build”)
Explanation
When your little brother breaks your carefully constructed Lego village into its tiny parts, he destroys it. To destroy is to completely demolish. To destroy is the opposite of to construct or to build. When you destroy something, you cause destruction, when you build something, you are involved in its construction. In war, soldiers are sometimes sent on missions to search and destroy. This means their job is to find a target and completely take it out. Destroy doesn't have to be physical though. If you get an F in your math class, that could destroy your dream of going to an Ivy League university and too much criticism can destroy your self-esteem.
Vocabulary lists containing destroy
Beowulf vocabulary
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"Frankenstein"
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Workshop 2, Part 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.
See Examples For:
Water, essential to life, can destroy everything in its path.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
"It'll destroy its credibility and make itself even more vulnerable to these unfair attacks from the United States."
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Its aim is to keep hornet numbers low and it is therefore asking people to report sightings so it can destroy primary nests.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Tehran reconstituted some of its weapons programs after the U.S. and Israel tried to destroy them in the early days of the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“You come one step closer, and I’ll destroy these!”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
"I work close to the Legacy premises... and drive past it every day. Knowing now that mum was lying inside for almost eight months destroys me," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
That’s because if the deal goes through it stands a good chance to fail — failure in this case meaning that the combined company destroys more shareholder value than it creates.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Kuchipudi emphasized that pasteurization effectively destroys the virus, highlighting the importance of avoiding raw milk.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
Doctors later told Caroline, who lives near Haverhill, Suffolk, that the "boil" was in fact necrotising fasciitis – a rare infection that destroys tissue beneath the skin.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
“If I die down here, you go on living in the dark. Gaea destroys the gods, and they never realize you were the better weaver.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Destruction was everywhere in Zawtar al-Gharbiya, where mayor Abed Ezzeddine said three quarters of the buildings had been destroyed and there was no electricity or running water.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
He adds that Iran's "capacity to produce, at scale, the kinds of missiles, drones and other weapons systems" it needs has been largely destroyed.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
No structures had been damaged or destroyed as of Sunday night, according to Cal Fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The fire, which began on Wednesday, has burned more than 100,000 acres in the Gironde region, a popular tourist destination, and destroyed 240 houses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
They’d also destroyed a wolf den on the other side of the gully.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Over the past six days, the largest French wildfire since 1949 has raged west of Bordeaux, forcing more than 220,000 people to flee and destroying 240 houses.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Even more egregious is the case of AI companies buying and destroying rare books en masse in the process of scanning them for data.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Wildfires in southwestern France have burned over 100,000 acres and pushed within 10 miles of Bordeaux, destroying 240 houses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Whipped by strong winds amid 100-plus degree temperatures, that spark grew into California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record, ultimately scorching some 429,000 acres and destroying 427 homes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Anyway, it’s the least you can do after destroying my bonnet.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
