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

Lala moved south of the Big Island on Sunday as a Category 1 hurricane, damaging or destroying more than 100 homes and cutting off some communities, according to the governor. — Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

If satellites supporting communications or ISR were damaged or destroyed, a faster and less expensive launch system could theoretically allow replacement spacecraft to be deployed more quickly. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026

The Los Angeles fires in 2025 (also called the Palisades and Eaton fires) damaged or destroyed more than 18,000 structures, making them among California’s most destructive wildfires. — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026

In those animals, the clustered engram synapses were destroyed indiscriminately—just like every other synapse. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 22 Aug. 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