A fast warship, smaller than a cruiser, developed to fight torpedo boats about 1890, and later submarines
A naval vessel of small displacement and maximum speed having a battery of light rapid-fire guns and heavy deck torpedo tubes These vessels have a moderate steaming radius and are intended for the protection of capital ships and for convoy and scouting duty
a person who destroys or ruins or lays waste to; "a destroyer of the environment"; "jealousy was his undoer"; "uprooters of gravestones"
A destroyer is a small, heavily armed warship. Fast naval vessel used to protect other ships. The term was first applied to vessels built in the 1890s to protect battleships from torpedo boats. By World War I destroyers were often sent ahead of the battle fleet to scout for the enemy, beat back its destroyers with cannon fire, and then launch torpedoes against its battleships and cruisers. When the submarine became the main torpedo-launching vessel, destroyers armed with depth charges protected convoys and battle fleets against submarine attack. In World War II, with the addition of radar and antiaircraft guns, its escort role included air defense. Modern destroyers are run by a crew of about 300 and equipped with surface-to-air missiles, antiship missiles, and one or two big guns. Many carry submarine-hunting helicopters, and some carry cruise missiles
(Ex 12: 23), the agent employed in the killing of the first-born; the destroying angel or messenger of God (Comp 2 Kings 19: 35; 2 Sam 24: 15, 16; Ps 78: 49; Acts 12: 23 )
a small fast lightly armored but heavily armed warship a person who destroys or ruins or lays waste to; "a destroyer of the environment"; "jealousy was his undoer"; "uprooters of gravestones