decimate

verb

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dec·i·mate | \ ˈde-sə-ˌmāt

decimated; decimating

Definition of decimate

transitive verb

1 : to select by lot and kill every tenth man of decimate a regiment

2 : to exact a tax of 10 percent from poor as a decimated Cavalier— John Dryden

3a : to reduce drastically especially in number cholera decimated the population Kamieniecki's return comes at a crucial time for a pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries.— Jason Diamos

b : to cause great destruction or harm to firebombs decimated the city an industry decimated by recession

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Did You Know?

The connection between decimate and the number ten harks back to a brutal practice of the army of ancient Rome. A unit that was guilty of a severe crime (such as mutiny) was punished by selecting and executing one-tenth of its soldiers, thereby scaring the remaining nine-tenths into obedience. It's no surprise that the word for this practice came from Latin decem, meaning "ten." From this root we also get our word decimal and the name of the month of December, originally the tenth month of the calendar before the second king of Rome decided to add January and February. In its extended uses decimate strayed from its "tenth" meaning and nowadays refers to the act of destroying or hurting something in great numbers.

Examples of decimate in a Sentence

This kind of moth is responsible for decimating thousands of trees in our town. Budget cuts have decimated public services in small towns.

Recent Examples on the Web The same day that an asteroid is set to decimate Earth, a woman (Lister-Jones) gets invited to one last wild party intended to end humanity on a high note. — Keaton Bell, Vogue, "What to Watch At the First Virtual Sundance Film Festival," 25 Jan. 2021 Injuries and inexperience have combined to decimate a once-dominate downfield wall. — Andrew Krammer, Star Tribune, "Vikings midseason report: Defensive backs show a patchwork of progress," 10 Nov. 2020 As noted earlier, the deer can decimate gardens and front lawns. — René A. Guzman, ExpressNews.com, "White-tailed deer: These icons of Texas roam most of the U.S.," 12 Jan. 2021 Poachers decimate sea turtle nests along Central America’s unprotected beaches, but a two-year study shows the decoy eggs could offer crucial intelligence on trade routes. — Lindsey Mcginnis, The Christian Science Monitor, "Points of Progress: Denmark ends hunt for oil deposits, and more," 8 Jan. 2021 Few things can decimate one’s self-esteem like a bad haircut, and some men feel that taking their strands into their own hands only invites disaster. — Todd Plummer, WSJ, "George Clooney Cuts His Own Hair. Should You?," 21 Dec. 2020 If Miami’s core special teamers weren’t playing major snaps on offense and defense, the unit might have performed better, but this is what happens when injuries decimate a team. — Omar Kelly, sun-sentinel.com, "Dolphins grades and stock up, stock down from loss to Kansas City Chiefs," 14 Dec. 2020 Swier, who runs the downtown L.A. independent venues Teragram Ballroom and Moroccan Lounge, had no choice but to shut his doors in March and watch the coronavirus crisis decimate his industry. — Los Angeles Times, "With COVID stimulus in sight, L.A.’s desperate nightclub owners hope it’s not too little, too late," 17 Dec. 2020 The decision to decimate the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul by slicing a freeway through it was a typical one in that time period. — Star Tribune, "Readers Write: Finding joy, gun control, Rondo neighborhood, University of Minnesota sports, COVID restrictions," 24 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'decimate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.