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

• level
• pull down
• raze
• tear down
• unbuild

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

The commission ordered the property owner to repair or demolish the complex within 30 days. —Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 July 2024

Friction point: The cost to retrofit or demolish Portland's URMs is the main reason previous efforts to mandate seismic building upgrades failed, Kumar told Axios. —Meira Gebel, Axios, 10 July 2024

The development would stretch across three existing three-story buildings — from 1322 Broadway to 1336 Broadway — and demolish the buildings' interiors to make way for the new high-rise. —Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, 10 July 2024

The city also demolished the previous daily record of 111 degrees, set in 1984. —Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 8 July 2024

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

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