# destroy

Pronunciation: US say "di-STROY" /dɪˈstɹɔɪ/; UK

## Verb

1. To damage or eliminate something completely, so that it no longer exists, can be used, or has its former effect.
   - Simple: To damage or remove something completely so it no longer exists, works, or has its previous effect.
   - _The earthquake destroyed the ancient temple beyond any hope of restoration._
   - _Vandals can destroy a delicate sculpture in seconds._
2. To severely harm a person's well-being; to ruin someone emotionally or in their life.
   - Simple: To hurt someone so deeply that their life or happiness falls apart.
   - _The divorce destroyed him, and he barely left the house for a year._
   - _Such a betrayal can destroy even the strongest person._
3. To defeat an opponent utterly and overwhelmingly in a contest or competition. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To beat someone very badly in a game or contest.
   - _The champion destroyed every challenger who stepped into the ring._
   - _Top debaters can destroy weaker opponents within minutes._
4. To kill an animal humanely, especially to end its suffering or to control disease.
   - Simple: To kill an animal in a painless way, often to end its suffering or stop a disease spreading.
   - _The shelter was forced to destroy several aggressive dogs._
   - _Farmers destroyed the infected cattle under government orders._
5. To eat a serving of food rapidly and hungrily, leaving nothing behind. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To eat all of your food very fast because you are hungry.
   - _The kids destroyed an entire tray of cookies in minutes._
   - _After the hike we could destroy a huge plate of pasta._
6. To exhaust a muscle completely through intense exercise. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To work a muscle so hard that it becomes very tired.
   - _Coaches tell lifters to destroy each muscle group once a week._
   - _She destroyed her shoulders in today's session and could barely lift her arms._
7. To perform a song so poorly that the rendition is painful for listeners to hear. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To sing a song so badly that you ruin it.
   - _The singer at the wedding destroyed the couple's favorite love song, missing almost every high note._
   - _Amateur singers often destroy songs that are far too hard for them._
8. To penetrate someone sexually in a rough and aggressive way. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To penetrate someone sexually in a rough, aggressive way.
   - _He bragged to his friends that he was going to destroy her in bed._
   - _He boasted to the locker room about destroying his latest conquest._

## Origin

From Middle English destroyen, from Old French destruire, going back through Vulgar Latin *destrugō to Latin dēstruō. This combines the prefix dē- ('un-, de-') with struō ('I build'), giving the sense of 'to un-build'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/destroy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).