demolish
verb /dɪˈmɒlɪʃ/
/dɪˈmɑːlɪʃ/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they demolish | /dɪˈmɒlɪʃ/ /dɪˈmɑːlɪʃ/ |
| he / she / it demolishes | /dɪˈmɒlɪʃɪz/ /dɪˈmɑːlɪʃɪz/ |
| past simple demolished | /dɪˈmɒlɪʃt/ /dɪˈmɑːlɪʃt/ |
| past participle demolished | /dɪˈmɒlɪʃt/ /dɪˈmɑːlɪʃt/ |
| -ing form demolishing | /dɪˈmɒlɪʃɪŋ/ /dɪˈmɑːlɪʃɪŋ/ |
- demolish something to pull or knock down a building; to destroy something
- The factory is due to be demolished next year.
- The old slums are being demolished to make way for a new housing project.
- The car had skidded across the road and demolished part of the wall.
- Tornadoes demolished trailers and blew roofs off houses.
- demolish something to show that an idea or theory is completely wrong
- A recent book has demolished this theory.
- He has successfully demolished the opposition's arguments.
- demolish somebody/something to defeat somebody easily and completely
- They demolished New Zealand 44–6 in the final.
- demolish something (British English, informal) to eat something very quickly
- The children demolished their burgers and chips.
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from French démoliss-, lengthened stem of démolir, from Latin demoliri, from de- (expressing reversal) + moliri ‘construct’ (from moles ‘mass’).