dilapidate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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Archaic. to squander; waste.
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- dilapidation noun
- dilapidator noun
Etymology
Origin of dilapidate
1560–70; < Medieval Latin dīlapidātus, past participle of dīlapidāre to squander (compare dīlapidātiō disrepair), Latin: to pelt with stones; di- 2, lapidate
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.
Billions of investment is needed to bring the Venezeuela’s dilapidated infrastructure back online, and analysts say it could take years before there’s a meaningful increase in production of the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
From Barron's
Nor did he seek their advice on a plan unveiled the same day to have U.S. energy companies revitalize Venezuela’s dilapidated oil fields with multibillion-dollar investments.
The meeting house grows progressively more dilapidated, and the costumes get shabbier, indicating that things aren’t going well for the Puritans.
A frame outside the auditorium door displays five photos of the Mayer’s dilapidated conditions in the ’90s, with the theater caked in rust and mold, a shell of the version I’m standing in now.
From Salon
Others say dilapidated infrastructure has limited economic growth.
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.
