Havoc

How to spell havoc

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce havoc

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does havoc mean?

1. nounWidespread destruction, disorder, or confusion.

Havoc in a sentence

• The burst pipe caused complete havoc in the office basement.

• Heavy snowfall wreaked havoc on the morning commute.

Where does havoc come from?

Language of origin: French

Havoc entered English in the late 1300s from the Anglo-French phrase 'crier havok', literally 'to cry havoc', which was a military command authorising soldiers to begin plundering and seizing spoils. The underlying Old French word was 'havot', meaning pillage or looting, and its own origins before that are uncertain. For centuries the word kept its grim military flavour: to 'cry havoc' was to unleash uncontrolled destruction on an enemy, a sense Shakespeare made famous with the line 'Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war'. Over time the meaning softened from licensed plunder to any state of widespread confusion, chaos, or damage. The spelling trap is the ending: it looks as though it should be 'havock' (an older variant that did once exist), but modern English settled on the simpler '-oc'.

How the word is built

• havoc (single root, from Anglo-French havok 'plunder, pillage'; not built from a prefix or suffix)