self-destruct

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *swé?

Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ-der.

Proto-Germanic *selbaz

Old English self

Old English self-

Middle English self-

English self-

English destruct

English self-destruct

From self- + destruct.

Verb

self-destruct (third-person singular simple present self-destructs, present participle self-destructing, simple past and past participle self-destructed)

1. (usually figuratively) To destroy oneself or itself.

   Synonym: autodestruct

   The submarine was primed to self-destruct.

   • 2019 November 17, Sarah Holt, “Verstappen wins Brazilian GP as Ferraris collide AND Gasly and Sainz claim first F1 podiums”, in CNN‎^[1], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 18 May 2026:

     The Ferraris pressed the self-destruct button, Lewis Hamilton lost his spot on the podium, and there were champagne moments for Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz Jr.

2. To destroy or greatly damage one's position in a game, in one's work or career, in one's financial or social position, etc.

   If you attack with an energy level of only 30 you are going to self-destruct.

   Dating the boss is a bad move: if it goes badly, you could self-destruct.

Derived terms

• self-destruction

Translations

to destroy oneself

• Catalan: autodestruir-se (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 自爆 (zh) (zìbào)

• Finnish: tuhota itsensä
• French: auto-détruire (fr)
• Greek: αυτοκαταστρέφομαι (el) (aftokatastréfomai)
• Japanese: 自爆 (ja) (jibaku)
• Russian: самоликвиди́роваться (ru) impf or pf (samolikvidírovatʹsja), саморазруша́ться (ru) impf (samorazrušátʹsja), саморазру́шиться pf (samorazrúšitʹsja)
• Spanish: autodestruirse (es)

Noun

self-destruct (uncountable)

1. (chiefly science fiction) A feature of a system whereby it destroys itself.

   Synonyms: autodestruct, autodestruction

   They won't take any prisoners! Activate the self-destruct!