demolish

verb

de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmä-lish How to pronounce demolish (audio)
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 issueCurrent 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 noun

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 There’s a lot of carbon involved in designing and making these buildings—all the materials, transporting them, and putting them together, let alone then demolishing an existing structure. Rob Reddick, WIRED, 16 Mar. 2024 Several central Ohio counties were also under tornado watches Thursday evening, just over two weeks after nine tornadoes hit the state on Feb. 28, knocking down trees and demolishing buildings. Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024 Jefferson County, Indiana Sheriff Ben Flint said storms destroyed three or four single-family homes and four or five other structures and demolished several uninhabited campers along the river. CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024 Jefferson County Sheriff Ben Flint said storms destroyed three or four single-family homes and four or five other structures and demolished several uninhabited campers along the river. The Enquirer, 15 Mar. 2024 The two houses currently in the space will be demolished and a new building will be built. The Courier-Journal, 13 Mar. 2024 The cost of repairing the buildings, along with the inability to demolish them and rebuild in the desirable location in downtown, has scared off buyers, Justin Horwitz, one of the brokers the Milums hired to sell the site, wrote to the city. The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024 Now, the school is planning to demolish all buildings except the gym, library, campus center and fine arts building, which will be renovated. Rory Linnane, Journal Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2024 No solid plan to demolish any of the residences currently exists. Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024

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

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

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of demolish was in 1570

Dictionary Entries Near demolish

Cite this Entry

“Demolish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demolish. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

demolish

verb
de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmäl-ish How to pronounce demolish (audio)
b
: to break to pieces : smash 2 : to do away with : put an end to
demolisher noun
demolishment noun

More from Merriam-Webster on demolish

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