tear down
Britishverb
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Demolish, take apart, as in They tore down the old tenements , or He loved to tear down old engines . [Early 1600s]
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Vilify or discredit, as in He's always tearing down someone or other . [First half of 1900s]
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.
He threatened to tear down the venue after a judge ruled this week that his name cannot be added onto the building's exterior.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Last year, the Berlin State Monuments Council said it was critical of plans to tear down the bunker, which it said had "significant historical value".
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
We saw the bulldozers tear down the East Wing of the White House, the many renderings of what the new structure is going to look like.
From Slate ● May 7, 2026
Pacha, which will operate the club complex, has said it would tear down the recently built Mirage and be ready to go with a new one by June.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
They’d tear down the roof of the Neely house and pound at the beam until it splintered in over the hearth.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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.
