demolish

verb

de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmä-lish 

demolished; demolishing; demolishes

transitive verb

1

: tear down, raze

demolish a building

2

: to cause irreparable damage to: such as

a

: to break to pieces : smash

His car was demolished in the accident.

b

: 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

c

: to strip of any pretense of merit or credence

demolished her debate opponents

demolish a stereotype

demolished myths about the disease

3

informal : to defeat (a person or team) easily or completely

4

informal : to eat all of quickly

demolished the pizza

demolisher noun

demolishment

di-ˈmä-lish-mənt 

noun

Synonyms of demolish

• 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

On Friday, a city spokesperson confirmed that Aurora intends to move forward with that agreement, noting that the building would be demolished and that the riverfront area would be restored, but did not give any additional details about future plans for the site. —R. Christian Smith, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026

There’s no better excuse than a dead freezer to demolish your ice cream supply. —Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 May 2026

Joshy and team decided to demolish the old structure and salvage its timber for reuse. —Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar, Architectural Digest, 24 May 2026

The president also demanded the White House ballroom project — which began when the East Wing was demolished in October 2025 — be completed following the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel in April. —Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 24 May 2026

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