decapitate

English

Etymology

From French décapiter, from Late Latin decapitare, from de- + caput.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈkap.ɪt.eɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /dɪˈkæp.ə.teɪt/, /dɪˈkæp.ɪ.teɪt/, /də-/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

decapitate (third-person singular simple present decapitates, present participle decapitating, simple past and past participle decapitated)

1. (transitive, literal) To remove the head of.
   • 2013, “Accident: 202674701 - Worker Paving Airstrip Is Struck By Airplane And Decapitated”, in Occupational Safety and Health Administration‎^[1], archived from the original on 15 July 2022:

     Employee #1 was in the center of the runway, working alone approximately 300 feet from the end that led to the plane loading area and hangars. A pilot flying an airplane, Schweizer Aircraft Corporation Model G-164 B, approached the airstrip from the opposite end and landed. As the pilot taxied the plane toward the hangar, the plane's propeller struck Employee #1 in the head and decapitated him.

2. (transitive, figurative) To oust or destroy the leadership or ruling body of (a government etc.).
   • December 7 2022, Simon Shuster, “2022 Person of the Year: Volodymyr Zelensky”, in Time‎^[2]:

     The Russian goal at the start of the invasion had been to kill or capture Zelensky and decapitate his government.

Synonyms

• behead
• decollate

Antonyms

• recapitate

Hyponyms

• guillotine

Derived terms

• decapitable
• decapitation

Translations

remove the head of — see behead

Italian

Verb

decapitate

1. second-person plural present and imperative of decapitare

Spanish

Verb

decapitate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of decapitar combined with te