Meaning & use

demolish

verb·Everyday

To completely tear down or destroy a building or structure.

See it in a sentence

Crews demolished the abandoned factory to make room for new apartments.

The old bridge was demolished after engineers deemed it unsafe.

A note on using this word

Informally, it can also mean to thoroughly defeat an argument or opponent, as in "she demolished his argument."

Words with a similar meaning

razetear down

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

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