decimate
verb (used with object)
to kill or destroy a great number or proportion of.
were decimating
-
past progressiveof decimate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Barry Young, of Brixham Trawler Agents, described the influx as "an invasion" and said the octopus were "decimating the crab fishery at the minute".
From BBC ● May 19, 2025
Now posters in that vein were decimating landmarks in the name of a blockbuster arms race.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2024
This kitten-size marsupial had developed a taste for cane toads, imported from Central America decades ago to control beetles that were decimating sugarcane.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 11, 2023
"If we knew we were decimating our bee population then we wouldn't do it," he told BBC News.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2014
For two months Charles V. prosecuted this campaign without a fight, marching through the whole of Provence an army which fatigue, shortness of provisions, sickness, and ambuscades were decimating ingloriously.
From A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times, Volume 4 by Robert Black
