destroy vs take down

destroy and take down both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
destroy	No	No	Yes	No
take down	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, take down is a hyponym of destroy; that is, take down is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than destroy:

destroy (verb)	take down (verb)
defeat soundly and humiliatingly	make a written note of
destroy completely; damage irreparably	tear down so as to make flat with the ground
put (an animal) to death	reduce in worth or character, usually verbally
do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of	move something or somebody to a lower position