Definition of "decimation" [dec•i•ma•tion]

• The killing or destruction of a large portion of a population. (noun)
• A tithing. (noun)
• A selection of every tenth person by lot, as for punishment. (noun)
• The creation of a new sequence comprising only every nth element of the original sequence. (noun)
• A digital signal processing technique for reducing the number of samples in a discrete-time signal. (noun)

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• "Five hundred men were caught shirking their duty; one out of every ten was selected for execution, which is why the procedure was called decimation analogous to our word decimal, that is, one-tenth."
• "In the United States we have watched the long term decimation of the manufacturing sector and a transition to a "service" economy."
• "The Romans even figured out how to deter cowardice that causes the death of others with the technique called decimation: If a legion lost a battle and there was suspicion of cowardice, 10 percent of the soldiers and commanders - usually chosen at random - were put to death."