demolish
Americanverb (used with object)
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to destroy or ruin (a building or other structure), especially on purpose; tear down; raze.
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to put an end to; destroy; explode.
The results of his research demolished many theories.
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to lay waste to; ruin utterly.
The fire demolished the area.
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Informal. to devour completely.
We simply demolished that turkey.
verb
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to tear down or break up (buildings, etc)
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to destroy; put an end to (an argument, etc)
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facetious to eat up
she demolished the whole cake!
Related Words
See destroy.
Other Word Forms
- demolisher noun
- demolishment noun
- half-demolished adjective
- undemolished adjective
Etymology
Origin of demolish
1560–70; < Middle French démoliss-, stem of démolir < Latin dēmōlīrī to destroy, equivalent to dē- de- + mōlīrī to set in motion, struggle ( mōl ( ēs ) mass, bulk + -īrī infinitive suffix)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After the festival officially exits Utah, word is it’s getting demolished.
From Los Angeles Times
But most of the millionaires went bust and the houses have been demolished.
From Literature
The fire-damaged building, on the outskirts of Newton Stewart, has since been demolished.
From BBC
In the capital Washington, authorities were dumping truckloads of ice and snow at the site of the demolished Robert F. Kennedy stadium.
From Barron's
For the answer, Chetty and his team looked to a government experiment that started over 30 years ago to demolish and replace rundown public housing projects with housing that had mixed-income levels.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
