Havoc Definition
hăvək
havocked, havocking, havocs
noun
havocs
Great destruction and devastation, as that resulting from hurricanes, wars, etc.
Webster's New World
Disorder or chaos.
A wild party that created havoc in the house.
American Heritage
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
verb
To lay waste; devastate.
Webster's New World
To destroy or pillage.
American Heritage
To pillage.
Wiktionary
To cause havoc.
Wiktionary
interjection
A cry in war as the signal for indiscriminate slaughter.
Wiktionary
idiom
cry havoc
- to give (an army) the signal for pillaging
- to warn of great, impending danger
Webster's New World
play havoc with
- to devastate; destroy; ruin
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Havoc
- cry havoc
- play havoc with
Origin of Havoc
-
From Anglo-Norman havok in the phrase crier havok (“cry havoc”) a signal to soldiers to seize plunder, from Old French crier (“cry out, shout”) + havot (“pillaging, looting”).
From Wiktionary
Middle English havok from Anglo-Norman (crier) havok (to cry) havoc variant of Old French havot plundering of Germanic origin
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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