burn down

phrasal verb

burned down or burnt down; burning down; burns down

1

of a building or other structure : to be destroyed by fire

The hotel burned down in 1922.

2

of a fire : to become smaller : to gradually produce less and less flame

We watched the fire as it slowly burned down.

3

: to destroy (something) by fire

Vandals burned down the school.

burned it down

Examples of burn down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Times journalists found that two Altadena homesites that were burned down and later cleaned up by federal cleanup crews still contain dangerous heavy metals above California’s standards. —Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025

Unlike homes that were burned down in other Southern cities where Confederates were hostile to occupying Union soldiers, the mansions in Natchez were protected because the women left at home while the men were gone fighting were cooperative and invited the Union soldiers in. —Amy Bentley, Oc Register, 7 May 2025

Earlier this year, Osment’s Altadena house burned down in the Eaton fire. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025

And then this last fire, in Malibu, our family beach house burned down. —Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2025

Rhymes for burn down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown