De*stroy" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Destroyed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Destroying.] [OE. destroien, destruien, destrien, OF. destruire, F. détruire, fr. L. destruere, destructum; de + struere to pile up, build. See Structure.] 1. To unbuild; to pull or tear down; to separate virulently into its constituent parts; to break up the structure and organic existence of; to demolish.

But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves.

2. To ruin; to bring to naught; to put an end to; to annihilate; to consume.

I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation.

3. To put an end to the existence, prosperity, or beauty of; to kill.

If him by force he can destroy, or, worse,
By some false guile pervert.

Syn. -- To demolish; lay waste; consume; raze; dismantle; ruin; throw down; overthrow; subvert; desolate; devastate; deface; extirpate; extinguish; kill; slay. See Demolish.

• To damage beyond use or repair.
        "The earthquake destroyed several apartment complexes."
  
• (computing) To release resources on a computer.
        "The memory leak happened because we forgot to destroy the temporary lists."
  
• To defeat soundly.
  
• To put down or euthanize an (animal).
       Destroy a rabid dog.