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

While here, Williams’ house in Ohio burned down, her contract for her teaching job was canceled, and she was stranded in a new city with nowhere to live. —Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026

The series finale, which literally burned down half the fictional world as fans knew it, was largely panned and today sits at 47 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. —Amy Wilkinson, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Feb. 2026

The temple, more than 330 feet long and 150 feet wide (roughly 100 meters by 46 meters), was burnt down in 356 by an arsonist named Herostratus. —Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026

That Denver squad would get burned down (GM Masai Ujiri left for Toronto, George Karl was fired and Andre Iguodala went to Golden State in a sign-and-trade) after losing to Steph Curry in the first round of the playoffs. —Zach Harper, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for burn down

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