destroy

verb

de·​stroy di-ˈstrȯi 

dē-

destroyed; destroying; destroys

transitive verb

1

: to ruin the structure, organic existence, or condition of : damage beyond repair

destroyed the files

Their reputation was destroyed.

A disease that destroys the body's ability to fight off illness.

2

a

: to put out of existence : kill

destroy an injured horse

b

: neutralize

the moon destroys the light of the stars

c

: annihilate, vanquish

… marines have been trained to close with and destroy the enemy. That's what we do.

—Stephen W. Larose

d

informal : to defeat soundly

destroyed the other team 10-1

intransitive verb

: to cause ruin or destruction

It is proverbially easier to destroy than to construct …

—T. S. Eliot

Synonyms of destroy

• ruin
• demolish
• devastate
• shatter
• wreck
• smash
• overcome

Examples of destroy in a Sentence

Eventually our problems with money destroyed our marriage.

All the files were deliberately destroyed.

The disease destroys the body's ability to fight off illness.

The bomb blast destroyed the village.

The dog had to be destroyed since its owner could not prevent it from attacking people.

Recent Examples on the Web

There were, like, broad clothing swipes, like, someone maybe was trying to destroy fingerprints. —Sarah Prior, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2026

An excuse or explanation by itself, even while being transparent, destroys trust. —Shep Hyken, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026

The car was removed from the home by fire personnel, revealing the home’s living room front wall as destroyed, exposing the room to the front yard of the home. —Sierra Van Der Brug, Daily News, 24 Jan. 2026

But word got out and large crowds of people overran the land and destroyed nearly everything Sutter had. —Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French destroy-, destrui-, stem of destrure, from Vulgar Latin *destrugere, alteration of Latin destruere, from de- + struere to build — more at structure

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for destroy

• ahoy
• alloy
• annoy
• carboy
• convoy
• cowboy
• decoy
• deploy
• employ
• employe
• enjoy
• kilroy

Kids Definition

destroy

verb

de·​stroy di-ˈstrȯi 

1

: to put an end to : do away with : ruin

2

: kill entry 1 sense 1, slaughter