destroyer
/dəˈstɹɔɪ.ɚ/ noun
Forms destroyers
- noun That which destroys something.
- noun (military, nautical, historical) A small, fast warship with light gun armament, smaller than a cruiser, but bigger than a frigate.
- noun (military, nautical) A larger warship with guided missile armament, usually intended for air defence or anti-ship roles. Often, but not always, larger than a frigate and smaller than a cruiser.
- noun (science fiction, by extension) A starship of comparable role.
Synonyms
devastator decimator guided missile destroyer ruiner undoer waster uprooter
Etymology
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.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Cf. OF. destruior.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “destroyer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details