de ‧ stroy S2 W2 /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ destroyer , ↑ destruction ; adjective : ↑ indestructible , ↑ destructive ; verb : ↑ destroy ; adverb : ↑ destructively ]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: destruire , from Latin destruere , from struere 'to build' ]
1 . to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired ⇨ destruction
completely/totally destroy
The school was completely destroyed by fire.
companies that are polluting and destroying the environment
destroy sb’s confidence/hope/faith etc
2 . if something destroys someone, it ruins their life completely:
The scandal destroyed Simmons and ended his political career.
3 . informal to defeat an opponent easily:
The Bears destroyed the Detroit Lions 35–3.
4 . to kill an animal, especially because it is ill or dangerous:
One of the bulls had to be destroyed.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ destroy the evidence (=deliberately destroy evidence of a crime)
They set light to the car to destroy the evidence.
▪ destroy the environment
Some of these companies are polluting and destroying the environment.
▪ destroy the world/planet
No one wants another war, which might destroy the world.
▪ destroy sb’s career
She made one bad mistake and it destroyed her career.
▪ destroy sb’s reputation
The scandal destroyed his reputation.
▪ destroy the character of something
New buildings have destroyed much of the character of the area.
▪ destroy sb’s hopes
Losing the game destroyed the team’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
▪ destroy sb’s confidence
When he failed his degree, it completely destroyed his confidence.
■ adverbs
▪ completely/totally destroy something
The plane was completely destroyed when it hit a mountain.
▪ partially destroy something
The Great Fire of 1666 partially destroyed the prison.
■ phrases
▪ be destroyed by fire/a bomb/earthquake etc
The building was destroyed by fire in 2004.
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THESAURUS
▪ destroy to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired:
The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city.
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The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
▪ devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it:
Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city.
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The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
▪ demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident:
The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times.
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The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
▪ flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing:
The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
▪ wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building:
The toilets had been wrecked by vandals.
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They just wrecked the place.
▪ trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc:
Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
▪ obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains:
The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
▪ reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely:
The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
▪ ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed:
Fungus may ruin the crop.
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The new houses will ruin the view.