destroyer
/dɪˈstrɔɪə
/noun
1A small, fast warship, especially one equipped for a defensive role against submarines and aircraft.The fleet includes a submarine, a destroyer and an aircraft carrier....
- These ships were to be supported by six torpedo-boat destroyers, two submarines and support ships.
- At sea, he served in a battleship, an aircraft carrier, in cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and a minesweeper.
2A person or thing that destroys something: CFCs are the chief destroyers of the ozone layer...
- Gunns is also a destroyer of native forests on other private land, by means of joint ventures or other commercial arrangements with owners of native forests.
- Shiva is the destroyer of the world, following Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver, after which Brahma again creates the world and so on.
- The long duration of their wars, and their inflexible adherence to their purpose, are to be ranked among the foremost destroyers of the human species.
