verb
decapitate
dih-KAP-iht-ayt
verb
1
To cut off someone's head.
"The statue had been decapitated by vandals."
2
To remove or destroy the leadership of an organisation.
"The raid was designed to decapitate the cartel's command structure."
How to Use Decapitate
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo behead someone or something, literally or (figuratively) to remove an organisation's leaders.
Common pairings
decapitate the leadership
a decapitated statue
Word Forms
decapitated past tense, decapitates singular
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Etymology
From Late Latin dēcapitāre, literally "to de-head" — dē- ("off") + caput ("head").