decimate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to kill or destroy a great number or proportion of.
The population was decimated by a plague.
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to greatly reduce in number or amount.
From 1975-1981, our country was not driving the space exploration agenda, and our aerospace workforce was decimated.
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to cause to suffer great loss or harm.
The constant eruptions that spewed forth decimated the forest and turned it to ash.
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to select by lot and kill every tenth person of.
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Obsolete. to take a tenth of or from.
verb
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to destroy or kill a large proportion of
a plague decimated the population
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(esp in the ancient Roman army) to kill every tenth man of (a mutinous section)
Usage
One talks about the whole of something being decimated, not a part: disease decimated the population, not disease decimated most of the population
Other Word Forms
- decimation noun
- decimator noun
Etymology
Origin of decimate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin decimātus, past participle of decimāre “to punish every tenth man chosen by lot,” verbal derivative of decimus “tenth,” derivative of decem “ten”; ten, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Software stocks dropped on Friday after digital-payments company Block announced it is slashing more than 4,000 employees — further fueling fears that artificial intelligence could decimate employee head counts and hurt demand for software.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026
The departures could decimate an office already struggling to deal with the surge in immigration enforcement, said B. Todd Jones, a former U.S. attorney for Minnesota.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026
Critics of the plans say the changes will decimate the Samaritans' work in local communities and have accused the charity's leadership of repeatedly ignoring requests to provide the rationale for the plans.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025
Generalist creatures, those that can thrive in a variety of environments, will most easily adapt to city life and may go on to decimate native species.
From Salon • Jun. 15, 2025
Why didn’t Native American diseases instead decimate the Spanish invaders, spread back to Europe, and wipe out 95 percent of Europe’s population?
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.