demolish
v.v. to completely destroy a building or a large structure so that it is gone. You can also use it when someone wins a game or an argument very easily.
v. to pull down or knock down a building or structure; to completely destroy or refute an argument or theory. Transitive — requires a direct object.
The city plans to demolish the old factory next month.
The construction crew used a wrecking ball to demolish the condemned apartment block in just three days.
The defense attorney proceeded to demolish the witness's testimony by highlighting several critical inconsistencies in the timeline of events.
Attested since the 16th century; from Middle French demoliss-, the stem of some conjugated forms of the verb demolir (“to destroy”, “to tear down”), from Latin dēmōlior (“I tear down”). Displaced native Old English tōweorpan (literally “to throw apart”).
The verb is transitive and takes a direct object. It is frequently used in both literal architectural contexts and figurative rhetorical contexts.
- Verbdemolish
- Noundemo
- Noundemolition