Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

dilapidate

[dih-lap-i-deyt]
See more synonyms for dilapidate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), di·lap·i·dat·ed, di·lap·i·dat·ing.
  1. to cause or allow (a building, automobile, etc.) to fall into a state of disrepair, as by misuse or neglect (often used passively): The house had been dilapidated by neglect.
  2. Archaic. to squander; waste.
Show More
verb (used without object), di·lap·i·dat·ed, di·lap·i·dat·ing.
  1. to fall into ruin or decay.
Show More

Origin of dilapidate

1560–70; < Medieval Latin dīlapidātus, past participle of dīlapidāre to squander (compare dīlapidātiō disrepair), Latin: to pelt with stones; see di-2, lapidate
Related formsdi·lap·i·da·tion, noundi·lap·i·da·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

marimpoverishwreckoverwhelminjureshatterexhaustdemolishcrushdecimatewrackdepletespoilrazebankruptimpairravagecrippletrashsabotage

Examples from the Web for dilapidate

Historical Examples

  • Everything about the villain stream has a dilapidate, broken-down air: the very mud of the Spider Water is rusty.

    Held for Orders

    Frank H. Spearman

  • Smilash had immediately promised to dilapidate it to its former state at the end of the year.

    An Unsocial Socialist

    George Bernard Shaw

British Dictionary definitions for dilapidate

dilapidate

verb
  1. to fall or cause to fall into ruin or decay
Show More

Word Origin

C16: from Latin dīlapidāre to scatter, waste, from dis- apart + lapidāre to stone, throw stones, from lapis stone
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

Word Origin and History for dilapidate

v.

1560s, "to bring a building to ruin," from Latin dilapidatus, past participle of dilapidare "to squander, waste," originally "to throw stones, scatter like stones;" see dilapidation. Perhaps the English word is a back-formation from dilapidation.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper