Destroyer Meaning
/dəˈstɹɔɪ.ɚ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThat which destroys something.
nounA small, fast warship with light gun armament, smaller than a cruiser, but bigger than a frigate.
Sentence Examples
I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.
Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The warship, a naval ____, was equipped with powerful missiles and torpedoes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am become death, the ____ of worlds.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English destroyour, destroyere; By surface analysis, destroy + -er. Designating a warship, it is ellipsis of torpedo-boat destroyer, the longer term appearing at the end of the 19th century and the shorter form early in the 20th.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"But it is as a destroyer of grasshoppers that the dickcissel excels."
— 1901, Sylvester D. Judd, The Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture, page 91:
"These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and, instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar."
— 1908 January 26, John Muir, “Hetch Hetchy Valley”, in Sierra Club Bulletin:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The warship, a naval ____, was equipped with powerful missiles and torpedoes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I am become death, the ____ of worlds.