[dec.i.mate] vt -mat.ed ; -mat.ing [L decimatus, pp. of decimare, fr. decimus tenth, fr. decem ten] (1660) 1: to select by lot and kill every tenth man of
2: to exact a tax of
10. percent from "poor as a decimated Cavalier --John Dryden" 3 a: to reduce drastically esp. in number "cholera decimated the population" b: to destroy a large part of "firebombs decimated large sections of the city" -- dec.i.ma.tion n