decommission

verb

de·​com·​mis·​sion ˌdē-kə-ˈmi-shən 

decommissioned; decommissioning; decommissions

transitive verb

: to remove (something, such as a ship or a nuclear power plant) from service

Examples of decommission in a Sentence

Several military bases are scheduled to be decommissioned.

The government is decommissioning the nuclear power plant.

Recent Examples on the Web

Of Japan's 54 commercial reactors, 11 are currently in operation, 20 are offline and more than 20 others are being decommissioned, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

Private keys still sitting on disk for services that were decommissioned two years ago. — Atsushi Yamada, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

The Palisades nuclear power plant, located on Lake Michigan and decommissioned after 40 years of operation in 2022, is now getting a new lease of life after energy company Holtec International is working to restore it to active operation status. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2026

Originally constructed in the 1860s to house two battalions of the British Army, Chelsea Barracks served as an important military base for more than 140 years before being decommissioned in 2008. — Nick Scott, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for decommission

• abolition
• acquisition
• admonition
• ammunition
• apparition
• apposition
• coalition
• competition
• composition
• definition
• deglutition
• demolition

Kids Definition

decommission

verb

de·​com·​mis·​sion ˌdē-kə-ˈmish-ən 

: to remove (as a ship) from use or service