destruction
The act or process of breaking or damaging something so much that it cannot be used, fixed, or kept.
The act or process of causing something to be completely ruined, damaged beyond repair, or no longer able to exist or function.
Something that makes a person’s life, success, or health completely fail, often because of what that person does.
Something that causes a person’s complete ruin, failure, or death, especially as a result of their own habits or choices.
- Base: destruction
- Plural: destruction, destructions
a path of destruction
1line of heavy damage
An area that has been badly damaged in a line or track by something like a storm, fire, or army as it moved through.
- The tornado cut a path of destruction through three towns.
- The army left a path of destruction behind it as it advanced.
- Satellite images showed a clear path of destruction after the hurricane.
a trail of destruction
1series of places badly damaged
Many damaged places left behind in the line where something has moved, such as a storm, riot, or violent group.
- The rioters left a trail of destruction through the city center.
- The typhoon carved a trail of destruction along the coast.
- The bombings created a trail of destruction that stretched for miles.
leave a trail of destruction
1move while causing much damage
To go through an area and cause serious damage in many places as you go.
- The storm left a trail of destruction across the island.
- The invading forces left a trail of destruction wherever they passed.
- Hackers can leave a trail of destruction in company computer systems if security is weak.
mutually assured destruction
1nuclear standoff where both lose
A situation in which two or more countries all have enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other, so using them would mean everyone is destroyed.
- During the Cold War, mutually assured destruction was seen as a way to prevent nuclear war.
- The strategy of mutually assured destruction relies on both sides fearing total loss.
- Some experts say that mutually assured destruction is less stable in a world with more nuclear states.
weapons of mass destruction
1very powerful, wide-area weapons
Nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons that can kill a very large number of people and destroy big areas at once.
- The treaty bans the production of weapons of mass destruction.
- They were accused of secretly developing weapons of mass destruction.
- Fear of weapons of mass destruction shaped international policy for many years.