destroy

UK: /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ US: /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ ,(di stroi′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

de•stroy /dɪˈstrɔɪ/   v. [ ~ + obj]

1. to ruin (a thing) by demolishing;
   injure beyond repair:
   Fire destroyed several stores in the area.
2. to put an end to:
   They destroyed communism from within.
3. to kill;
   slay:
   had to destroy the injured animal.
4. to defeat completely;
   ruin;
   wreck:
   I felt destroyed by the thought that she no longer needed me.

See -stru-. Related Words

destroy is a verb, destructive is an adjective, destruction is a noun:
The bombs destroyed the factory. The bombs were very destructive. The destruction caused by the bombs was tremendous.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

de•stroy  (di stroi′), v.t. 

1. to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving;
   injure beyond repair or renewal;
   demolish;
   ruin;
   annihilate.
2. to put an end to;
   extinguish.
3. to kill;
   slay.
4. to render ineffective or useless;
   nullify;
   neutralize;
   invalidate.
5. to defeat completely.

v.i. 

6. to engage in destruction.

• Vulgar Latin *dēstrūgere, for Latin dēstruere (dē- de- + struere to pick up, build)
• Old French destruire
• Middle English destroyen 1175–1225

de•stroy′a•ble, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. smash, level, waste, ravage, devastate.
  Destroy, demolish, raze imply reducing a thing to uselessness. To destroy is to reduce something to nothingness or to take away its powers and functions so that restoration is impossible:
  Fire destroys a building. Disease destroys tissues.
  To demolish is to destroy something organized or structured:
  to demolish a machine.
  To raze is to level down to the ground:
  to raze a fortress.
• 2. extirpate, annihilate, uproot.

Antonyms

• 1, 2. create.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

destroy / dɪˈstrɔɪ/ verb (mainly tr)

1. to ruin; spoil; render useless
2. to tear down or demolish; break up; raze
3. to put an end to; do away with; extinguish
4. to kill or annihilate
5. to crush, subdue, or defeat
6. (intransitive) to be destructive or cause destruction

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French destruire, from Latin dēstruere to pull down, from de- + struere to pile up, build