demolish

verb

de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmä-lish 

demolished; demolishing; demolishes

transitive verb

1

a

: tear down, raze

demolish a building

b

: to break to pieces : smash

His car was demolished in the accident.

2

a

: to do away with : destroy

a filibuster which would effectively demolish the issue

—Current Biography

… a performance so awkward and apathetic it instantly appeared to demolish any chance of restoring her declining career …

—Dave Itzkoff

b

: to strip of any pretense of merit or credence

demolished her debate opponents

demolish a stereotype

demolisher noun

demolishment

di-ˈmä-lish-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• level
• pull down
• raze
• tear down
• unbuild

Examples of demolish in a Sentence

The old factory was demolished to make way for a new parking lot.

Tons of explosives were used to demolish the building.

The town hopes to restore the old theater rather than have it demolished.

The car was demolished in the accident.

They demolished the other team 51–7.

Recent Examples on the Web

Finally, after 20 years of struggle, protests, court battles and even picketing the home of Warren Buffett, whose company had assumed ownership of the dams, an agreement was reached to demolish the dams. —Debra Utacia Krol, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024

World & Nation Israeli airstrike demolishes Iranian Consulate in Syria, kills two Iranian generals April 1, 2024 Kamal Adwan and two other nearby hospitals have been hit by Israel several times amid the fighting. —Melanie Lidman and Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024

The first Gordon Plaza home to be demolished came down yesterday. —Chelsea Brasted, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024

Bezos came under fire for plans to partially demolish the famous De Hef bridge in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to allow the yacht’s three 230-foot-tall masts to pass underneath. —Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French demolir, extended stem demoliss- (with final conformed to earlier English verbs with the same ending, as nourish, perish), borrowed from Latin dēmōlīrī, dēmōlīre "to throw off, pull down, raze," from dē- de- + mōlīrī "to labor to bring about, strive, build, construct." probably derivative of mōlēs "large mass, massive structure, effort, exertion" — more at mole entry 4

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

demolish

verb

de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmäl-ish 

a

: tear down, raze

b

: to break to pieces : smash 2 : to do away with : put an end to

demolisher noun

demolishment

-ish-mənt 

noun