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

The insurance industry argued the change was imperative given global warming’s role in a number of wildfires, including in 2017 and 2018 when thousands of homes burned down. —Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024

The town has had to be over the course of previous eruptions in the area, one of which even reached the outskirts of the town and burned down a few houses. —Flynn Nicholls, Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2024

But there’s a parallel tradition of holiday movies more akin to watching that flame spread uncontrollably until the house burns down, films set in the zone where yuletide merriment and action movies overlap. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 17 Nov. 2024

Some homes have burnt down to the studs with little left. —Chris Boyette, CNN, 6 Nov. 2024