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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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
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
Britain said in May it was sending a destroyer to the region, and Italy has made two minehunters available.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
He ordered a second American destroyer, the Turner Joy, to join the Maddox.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Meanwhile, the U.K. recently said it would build vessels designed to act as mother ships to drones instead of replacing its fleet of destroyers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The Royal Navy's ageing but capable Type 45 destroyers will no longer be replaced by the planned Type 83 destroyers.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 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.
