demolish

1560–70; <Middle French démoliss-, stem of démolir<Latin dēmōlīrī to destroy, equivalent to dē-de- + mōlīrī to set in motion, struggle (mōl(ēs) mass, bulk + -īrī infinitive suffix)

synonym study for demolish

1. See destroy.

OTHER WORDS FROM demolish

de·mol·ish·er, nounde·mol·ish·ment, nounhalf-de·mol·ished, adjectiveun·de·mol·ished, adjective

Words nearby demolish

demoiselle, demoiselle crane, de Moivre, de Moivre's theorem, de Molina, demolish, demolition, demolition bomb, demolition derby, demolitions, demon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use demolish in a sentence

LUCA’s competitors may have survived some time as fossils, but the planet’s tectonic churn has long since demolished its earliest rocks.
Your ancestors might have been Martians|Charlie Wood|February 12, 2021|Popular-Science
In 2014 I wrote about a rusty metal box that Anne Smith and Malcolm Bertoni found when they demolished a brick barbecue in their Cleveland Park backyard.
A thrift shop photo album is full of mystery photos of a District family|John Kelly|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
Epic is purchasing the 980,000-square-foot Cary Towne Center, which sits on 87 acres, from developers who had previously announced plans to demolish the mall and build a new, mixed-use development.
Fortnite’s parent company is turning a North Carolina mall into its headquarters|Karen Ho|January 7, 2021|Quartz
Greig said his family, which has owned the property for the past two decades, can barely afford to demolish the home, let alone move it back on the property line.
How Famous Surfers and Wealthy Homeowners Are Endangering Hawaii’s Beaches|by Sophie Cocke, Honolulu Star-Advertiser|December 5, 2020|ProPublica

That demolished Delaware’s record for Democratic primary turnout, set in 2008, when Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton in the race for the small state’s delegates.
Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine; Biden says Americans shouldn’t trust Trump|Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
Eri Hayward is cheerful, even as she drops verbal bombs that demolish mainstream conceptions about being transgender.
Thank God! To the Church, This Transgender Woman Is Just a Skank|Emily Shire|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It will stir things up, but it will not begin to demolish the group.
The Case of the Yakking Yakuza|Jake Adelstein|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But if the Arab states mustered the will, they could demolish ISIS, as history has shown.
How a Real Air War Could Demolish ISIS|Clive Irving|August 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They need to demolish their homes and round them up, the way they do it to our children.
The Seeds of the Next Intifada|Jesse Rosenfeld|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sale has hit some snags, but the lease also gives El-Gamel the right to demolish the building.
Why the Ground Zero Mosque Is Worth Saving|Michael Daly|April 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I did not demolish my hut of pearl shells, but left it standing exactly as it had been during the past two and a half years.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
We then proceeded to demolish everything in sight except the boxes.
The Opened Shutters|Clara Louise Burnham
Hans raged and made as if to demolish the heart, and Gretchen, and indeed the whole dyke, but then he thought of something better.
Seeing Things at Night|Heywood Broun
They did not, however, demolish mine; on the contrary, they supplied another and a very curious link in the chain of evidence.
Secret Societies And Subversive Movements|Nesta H. Webster
These scavengers demolish an incredible amount of meat and blubber in a short time.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for demolish

demolish

/ (dɪˈmɒlɪʃ) /

verb (tr)

to tear down or break up (buildings, etc)

to destroy; put an end to (an argument, etc)

facetious to eat upshe demolished the whole cake!

Derived forms of demolish

demolisher, noundemolishment, noun

Word Origin for demolish

C16: from French démolir, from Latin dēmōlīrī to throw down, destroy, from de- + mōlīrī to strive, toil, construct, from mōles mass, bulk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

demolish

OTHER WORDS FOR demolish

Origin of demolish

synonym study for demolish

OTHER WORDS FROM demolish

Words nearby demolish

Words related to demolish

How to use demolish in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for demolish

Derived forms of demolish

Word Origin for demolish