defoliate
verb /diːˈfəʊlieɪt/
/diːˈfəʊlieɪt/
(specialist)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they defoliate | /diːˈfəʊlieɪt/ /diːˈfəʊlieɪt/ |
| he / she / it defoliates | /diːˈfəʊlieɪts/ /diːˈfəʊlieɪts/ |
| past simple defoliated | /diːˈfəʊlieɪtɪd/ /diːˈfəʊlieɪtɪd/ |
| past participle defoliated | /diːˈfəʊlieɪtɪd/ /diːˈfəʊlieɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form defoliating | /diːˈfəʊlieɪtɪŋ/ /diːˈfəʊlieɪtɪŋ/ |
- defoliate something to destroy the leaves of trees or plants, especially with chemicalsWord Originlate 18th cent.: from late Latin defoliat- ‘stripped of leaves’, from the verb defoliare, from de- (expressing removal) + folium ‘leaf’.