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- Dictionarydecimate/ˈdɛsɪmeɪt/
verb
- 1. kill, destroy, or remove a large proportion of: "the inhabitants of the country had been decimated"
- 2. kill one in every ten of (a group of people, originally a mutinous Roman legion) as a punishment for the whole group: historical "the man who is to determine whether it be necessary to decimate a large body of mutineers"
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DECIMATE definition: 1. to kill a large number of something, or to reduce something severely: 2. to kill a large number…. Learn more.
The meaning of DECIMATE is to select by lot and kill every tenth man of. How to use decimate in a sentence. Did you know?
Definition of decimate verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
to destroy large numbers of people, animals, or other creatures, or to harm something severely: Overfishing has decimated the cod population. We decimated public transportation in the 1950s and ’60s. (Definition of decimate from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) Examples of decimate. decimate.
Decimate definition: to kill or destroy a great number or proportion of. See examples of DECIMATE used in a sentence.
To decimate something such as a group of people or animals means to destroy a very large number of them. The pollution could decimate the river's thriving population of kingfishers.
If something is drastically reduced or killed, especially in number, you can say it was decimated. "The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico decimated the wildlife along the coast." The verb decimate originally referred to a form of capital punishment for Roman troops.
1. To destroy or kill a large part of (a group of people or organisms). 2. Usage Problem. a. To inflict great destruction or damage on: The storm decimated the region. b. To reduce markedly in amount: a profligate heir who decimated his trust fund. 3. To select by lot and kill one in every ten of (a group of soldiers).
Overview. decimate. Quick Reference. Kill one in every ten of (a group of people) as a punishment for the whole group; kill, destroy, or remove a large proportion of. In Middle English the term decimation denoted the levying of a tithe, and later the tax imposed by Cromwell on the Royalists (1655).
Jun 22, 2024 · decimate (third-person singular simple present decimates, present participle decimating, simple past and past participle decimated) ( archaic) To kill one-tenth of (a group), ( historical, specifically) as a military punishment in the Roman army selected by lot, usually carried out by the surviving soldiers. Synonym: tithe.
