demolish

verb de·mol·ish \ di-ˈmä-lish \

Definition of demolish

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

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demolisher

noun

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demolishment

play \-lish-mənt\ noun

See demolish defined for English-language learners

See demolish defined for kids

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 of demolish from the Web

But with a seemingly impossible needle to thread through his own caucus, McConnell might have hit a permanent roadblock on his dream to demolish the Affordable Care Act.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "The Long, Winding Road to Republicans’ Failure on Obamacare," 18 July 2017
Later that same year, another Portuguese — what is up, Portugal? — statue was demolished in a similar scenario.

— madison malone kircher, The Cut, "Woman Destroys $200,000 Worth of Art in Pursuit of a Selfie," 14 July 2017
When the traffic is realigned, contractors will demolish and reconstruct the west side of the bridge, Leonard said.

— erin edgemon, AL.com, "Major delays expected Saturday as ALDOT shifts traffic on Arkadelphia Road near I-59/20," 13 July 2017
The duo accused Lee Hsien Loong of maneuvering behind the scenes to undermine their father’s instructions that the house be demolished.

— sterling wong, Bloomberg.com, "Singapore Premier Lee’s Siblings Offer Cease-Fire on Family Feud," 6 July 2017
Trump's former Taj Mahal casino—which will soon be demolished to make way for a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino—is liquidating merchandise today in Atlantic City.

— lindsay silberman, Town & Country, "Trump's Taj Mahal is Auctioning Off All of Its Contents in Atlantic City," 6 July 2017
The village paid more than $3.3 million to purchase the property, demolish the businesses, and complete an environmental clean-up on the site, and sold it to two developers — TMC Illinois 2 LLC and Heidner Properties — for $2.25 million in 2016.

— susan demar lafferty, Daily Southtown, "New Lenox approves new shopping center," 5 July 2017
The city shouldn't be focused on demolishing vacant or dilapidated homes, Jackson said.

— erin edgemon, AL.com, "Army veteran Lanny Jackson announces run for Birmingham mayor," 3 July 2017
The building will likely be demolished and rebuilt, said Nathan Tonnies, of Metro Commercial Real Estate, which is marketing the property.

— erin hegarty, Naperville Sun, "Starbucks, Dark Horse Pastries move to new locations, Floyd's Barbershop opens," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'demolish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of demolish

Middle French demoliss-, stem of demolir, from Latin demoliri, from de- + moliri to construct, from moles mass — more at mole

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First Known Use: 1570

See Words from the same year

demolish Synonyms

Synonyms

level, pull down, raze, tear down, unbuild

Antonyms

build, construct, erect, put up, raise, rear, set up

Related Words

blow up, dynamite; abolish, annihilate, crack up, crush, dash, decimate, destroy, devastate, devour, dissolve, do in, eradicate, extirpate, finish, flatten, obliterate, overturn, pulverize, ravage, ruin, scourge, smash, total, unmake, waste, wipe out, wreck

Near Antonyms

build, construct, erect, put up, raise; rebuild, renew, renovate, restore; create, fabricate, fashion, forge, form, make, manufacture, shape

DEMOLISH Defined for English Language Learners

demolish

verb

Definition of demolish for English Language Learners

: to destroy (a building, bridge, etc.) : to forcefully tear down or take apart (a structure)
: to damage (something) so that it cannot be repaired
: to eat all of (something) quickly