Skip to content

destroy

/dɪˈstɹɔɪ/verb2 syllables

Destroy means: do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of.

Synonyms for destroy16

verb, as in do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of

destruct

verb, as in destroy completely; damage irreparably

verb, as in defeat soundly and humiliatingly

demolish

verb, as in put (an animal) to death

put down

also used for destroy

annihilate, break, kill, waste, aerosolize, atomize, benothing, bewreck, blot out, blotto, dash, decompose

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does destroy mean?4

verb

1

do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of“The fire destroyed the house”

2

destroy completely; damage irreparably“You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!”

3

defeat soundly and humiliatingly“The home team demolished the visitors”

4

put (an animal) to death“The customs agents destroyed the dog that was found to be rabid”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with destroy?16

one syllable

boyjoytoytroysoyployoycoyhoy

two syllables

three syllables

Show 40 near rhymes

Destroy in a sentence

  • Any brute can destroy a stable, but it takes a carpenter to build one.DJ_Saidez
  • It won't protect our health, but destroy it.Ergulis
  • Any donkey can destroy a stable, but you need a carpenter to build it.espamatics
  • Man may well, in his attempt to be too ambitious, destroy himself.unknown
  • If you don't destroy the devil in time, it will be strong.maaster
  • One day or another, sooner or later, humanity will destroy itself.Miktsoanit
  • He'll destroy those monsters all, one by one.Conjuice
  • The purpose of criticism is to construct, not to destroy.jan_OkulaJu

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of destroy

as a verb

past tense
destroyed
present participle
destroying
third-person singular
destroys
past participle
destroyed