burn down
Idioms-
Completely consume by fire, burn to the ground, as in Their house burned down and they had nowhere to go . [Mid-1800s]
-
Diminish for lack of fuel, as in The fire will soon burn down . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead of asking him about his brilliant ideas for solving climate change, I’d like us to ask him why he’s apparently so comfortable watching it all burn down.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Fire can cook food or it can burn down your house.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
"It's about understanding that if you've got yourselves a disposable barbecue make sure that you're putting down slabs, so that it doesn't burn down to the grass and catch fire."
From BBC • Aug. 30, 2025
The idea was to deny wind-borne embers fuel that can burn down dwellings — a problem fresh on lawmakers’ minds after Oregon’s devastating 2020 fire season destroyed more than 2,000 homes.
From Salon • Aug. 8, 2025
“I’m getting up to stretch my legs. Sorry” “Sometimes I just want to burn down all the rules and start over,” Mary Lou said.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
