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

Another more fanciful origin story goes that the Jade Emperor (a principal figure in Chinese mythology) threatened to burn down a village after its citizens accidentally killed his favorite pet crane. —Sarah Buder, AFAR Media, 20 Oct. 2025

Let’s take a hypothetical scenario in which someone’s home is valued at $400,000, but burns down exactly halfway through the year. —Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2025

In Milwaukee, rioters burned down a laundry in protest of Chinese immigration in 1889. —Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 15 Oct. 2025

Bryan said Anderson’s roommate had been receiving threats of violence from her son, including threats of bodily harm and to burn down the house. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for burn down

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