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

Facing greater competition and sensing more opportunity, the owners decided to close the hotel at the end of May and demolish the building next year. —Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 20 May 2025

Its current office building in the area would be demolished. —Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2025

The mall was closed over health and safety concerns in 2015 and later demolished. —Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025

Saturday, Journalism sat in sixth through the backstretch of the 1 3/16-mile track, and appeared too far back to make a challenge entering the homestretch in front of the Pimlico grandstand that will soon be demolished. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 18 May 2025

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

Rhymes for demolish

• abolish
• gaulish
• polish
• smallish

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