demolish

verb

de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmä-lish 

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 issue

—Current 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

di-ˈmä-lish-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• destroy
• raze
• smash

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

It was held at Isaza’s grandparents’ house, which was about to be demolished. —Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 10 July 2025

Shops at Sunset Place, a landmark mall in South Miami, will be demolished and replaced by towers filled with condos, a hotel, offices, a theater and restaurants. —Miami Herald, 8 July 2025

An existing, 38,000-square-foot building on the site will be demolished in that development. —Corina Vanek, AZCentral.com, 8 July 2025

Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria collapsed, and Iran’s nuclear, offensive missile, and air defense systems have been demolished by Israel and the United States. —James Jeffrey, Foreign Affairs, 4 July 2025

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

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for demolish

• abolish
• gaulish
• polish
• smallish

Kids Definition

demolish

verb

de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmäl-ish 

a

: tear down, raze

b

: to break to pieces : smash 2 : to do away with : put an end to

demolisher noun

demolishment

-ish-mənt 

noun