dilapidate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause or allow (a building, automobile, etc.) to fall into a state of disrepair, as by misuse or neglect (often used passively).
The house had been dilapidated by neglect.
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Archaic. to squander; waste.
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- dilapidation noun
- dilapidator noun
Etymology
Origin of dilapidate
1560–70; < Medieval Latin dīlapidātus, past participle of dīlapidāre to squander (compare dīlapidātiō disrepair), Latin: to pelt with stones; di- 2, lapidate
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.
The Victorian houses that line the avenues have been allowed to dilapidate.
From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2015
They were not such as I could combat; and I am driven to dilapidate the funds of my own country by a theft.
From Prince Otto, a Romance by Stevenson, Robert Louis
They were not such as I could combat; and I am driven to dilapidate the funds of my own country by a theft.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 7 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis
Buffets and gyves from your effete Old monarchy dilapidate, Or freedom's laurels for thy brow?
From Poems Vol. IV by Howard, Hattie
Hassenfratz dilapidates at home; Dumouriez grumbles and they dilapidate abroad: within the walls there is sinning, and without the walls there is sinning.
From The French Revolution by Carlyle, Thomas
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.
