decimate
DES-ih-maytverbMeaning to destroy a large part of something
Memory hook DECI = TEN, but now MOST are gone. Nell baked a hundred cookies; while she answered the door, the dog ate all but ten. He decimated the batch.
A harsh winter decimated the deer herd, leaving only a few dozen animals.
In context The new highway decimated the little town’s business: with drivers speeding past, most of its diners and gas stations closed within two years.
Similar cut down, thin out, cripple, lay low
Opposite increase, build up
From Latin decimare, from decimus (tenth). It first named a harsh Roman army punishment that struck one soldier in every ten.