Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows
or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps
Verb: decimate  'de-su,meyt
  1. Kill in large numbers
    "the plague decimated an entire population";
    - extinguish, wipe out
     
  2. Kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies
    "The general decimated the rebellious troops as a warning to others"

Derived forms: decimating, decimates, decimated

Type of: kill

Encyclopedia: Decimate