demolition derby
Americannoun
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a contest in which drivers deliberately and repeatedly crash old cars into each other, on a racetrack or in an enclosed area, with the winner being the last vehicle still moving after all others have been disabled.
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Informal. any event or circumstance having the chaotically destructive character of such a competition.
noun
Etymology
Origin of demolition derby
First recorded in 1950–55
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.
The competition—known as the May Bumps, despite occurring in June—is a wet and wild demolition derby in the shadows of England’s most storied halls of learning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The “restart timeline is a stubborn mule,” Raj told MarketWatch, and “repumping the battered energy heart is a multiyear demolition derby, not a weekend DIY.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
The race, part of the annual Walcha Motorcycle Rally, had been a demolition derby - a type of motorsport where drivers ram their vehicles into one another.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
The densely packed cluster plus the lightning-fast speeds equal a high-speed demolition derby.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2024
It looks like it’s been through a demolition derby.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
