burn down

phrasal verb

burned down or burnt down; burning down; burns down

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

The hotel burned down in 1922.

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

We watched the fire as it slowly burned down.

: 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 Two weeks after the killings, the crime scene — the Turner house — burned down. —

Corky Siemaszko, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024 Three white vehicles were in varying states of destruction, with the front of one burned down to its metal frame. —

Aric Toler, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024 After the building burned down in 1897, the Hayden family constructed a brick building in its place. —

Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024 Beside him was the brick chimney of a house that burned down decades ago, and below was the concrete dam that had formed Copco Lake. —

Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024 The case against Hartsfield began shortly after his truck burned down in a parking lot on Amour Street on Oct. 3, 2021. —

Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Mar. 2024 Henry's government declared a state of emergency more than a week ago after gangs attacked the country’s largest prison in Port-au-Prince, allowing about 3,500 inmates to escape, burned down police stations and sought to take control of the airport. —

Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024 Backgrounds should not be digitally blurred or eliminated by burning down or by aggressive toning. —

Greg Norman, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2024 Jim Anderson's Ranch before it was burned down by wildfires this week. —

Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 3 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'burn down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.