/ ˈdesɪmeɪt; NAmE / verb [ vn ]
1.
[ usually passive ] to kill large numbers of animals, plants or people in a particular area :
The rabbit population was decimated by the disease.
2.
( informal ) to severely damage sth or make sth weaker :
Cheap imports decimated the British cycle industry.
► deci·ma·tion / ˌdesɪˈmeɪʃn; NAmE / noun [ U ]
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Latin decimat- taken as a tenth, from the verb decimare , from decimus tenth. In Middle English the term decimation denoted the levying of a tithe, and later the tax imposed by the English statesman Cromwell on the Royalists (1655).