Disrupt

Verb · Startup & VC · Origin: 1997

Definitions

Originally (Christensen): to fundamentally change a market by introducing a simpler, cheaper alternative that initially targets overlooked segments. Currently: a word used in pitch decks to describe literally anything, including the 47th food delivery app.
In plain English: To completely change an industry with a new approach. Used correctly, it's a meaningful concept. Used in most pitch decks, it means 'we made an app.'
Example: "We're disrupting the disruption space by helping companies disrupt their disruptive strategies." — an actual pitch, probably.
Clayton Christensen's original theory (The Innovator's Dilemma, 1997) described a specific mechanism: incumbents rationally ignore low-end competitors, who then improve until they capture the mainstream market. Most modern usage of 'disrupt' has nothing to do with this mechanism.
Example: 'Uber didn't disrupt taxis in Christensen's sense — it offered a better product at a higher-tech level from day one. It disrupted the meaning of disruption.'
Source: Christensen's original theory

1997: Christensen publishes 'The Innovator's Dilemma', defining disruptive innovation
2011: TechCrunch launches 'Disrupt' conference; the word becomes inescapable