# destroy

/dɪˈstɹɔɪ/ (US) · /dɪstɹˈɔɪ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/destroy
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to damage beyond repair

verb · CEFR A2

to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be fixed.

For teachers: to damage an object or entity to the point that it effectively ceases to exist or cannot be restored to its original state.

- The fire destroyed the old wooden house in less than an hour.
- The earthquake destroyed several historic landmarks, leaving the city with the difficult task of rebuilding its cultural heritage from the ground up.

### 2. to ruin someone's life

verb · CEFR B2

to make someone's life or happiness very bad.

For teachers: to severely disrupt or ruin the well-being, reputation, or emotional state of a person.

- The scandal destroyed his career as a politician.
- Losing her business in the recession destroyed her confidence, making it hard for her to start over in a new industry.

### 3. to defeat completely

verb · CEFR B1 · Informal

to win against someone very easily or by a large score.

For teachers: to utterly defeat or crush an opponent in a competition or argument.

- Our team destroyed the visitors with a five-zero win.
- The champion destroyed his challenger in the first round, proving that he was still the most dominant athlete in the league.

### 4. to delete data

verb · CEFR B2 · Technical

to remove information from a computer or disk forever.

For teachers: to permanently remove or overwrite data so that it cannot be recovered.

- Make sure you destroy all personal files before selling your old laptop.
- The security protocol was designed to destroy all sensitive data on the server if an unauthorised login attempt was detected.

### 5. to euthanize an animal

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to kill an animal because it is very sick or dangerous.

For teachers: to put down or euthanize an animal, typically for safety or welfare reasons.

- The vet had to destroy the horse after it broke its leg in the race.
- Authorities were forced to destroy the stray dogs after several reports of aggressive behaviour toward local residents.

### 6. to eat quickly

verb · CEFR B2 · Slang

to eat a large amount of food very fast.

For teachers: to consume food rapidly and completely.

- The teenagers destroyed three large pizzas in ten minutes.
- After the long hike, the group destroyed the entire buffet, leaving almost nothing for the other guests.

## Examples

- The fire managed to destroy the entire building in minutes.
- Heavy rains and strong winds threatened to destroy the crops just before the harvest began.
- The general's strategy was not merely to defeat the opposing army but to destroy their infrastructure and supply lines entirely.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.