destructor
destructor Lexical Profile
destructor Game Scores & Validity
• noun
In object-oriented programming, a special method that is automatically invoked when an object's lifetime ends in order to release memory or clean up system resources.
"The developer implemented a custom destructor to ensure that the database connection was properly closed when the object went out of scope."
British A large industrial furnace or incinerator used for burning municipal refuse and waste.
"The municipal council constructed a new steam-generating destructor to process the city's household waste."
An explosive device or mechanism built into a missile, rocket, or spacecraft to intentionally destroy it if it malfunctions or veers off course.
"Range safety officers activated the rocket's onboard destructor after a guidance failure caused it to veer toward the coast."
A person or thing that destroys or ruins something.
"Time proved to be the ultimate destructor of the ancient stone monuments."
Word Nuance & Usage
In general prose, 'destroyer' is the standard agent noun for someone or something that destroys, whereas 'destructor' is restricted almost exclusively to object-oriented programming, aerospace engineering, and industrial incineration.
• Rhymes for destructor
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late Middle English period from Late Latin destructor ('a destroyer'), an agent noun derived from the verb destruere ('to pull down or destroy').