demolish

demolish
de|mol|ish [dıˈmɔlıʃ US dıˈma:-] v [T]
[Date: 1500-1600; : Old French; Origin: demolir, from Latin moliri 'to build']
1.) to completely destroy a building
The entire east wing of the building was demolished in the fire.
2.) to prove that an idea or opinion is completely wrong
He demolished my argument in minutes.
3.) to end or ruin something completely
These ants can demolish large areas of forest.
4.) to defeat someone very easily
Miami demolished Texas 46 - 3.
5.) especially BrE informal to eat all of something very quickly
He demolished a second helping of pie.
>demolition [ˌdeməˈlıʃən] n [U and C]

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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  • Demolish — De*mol ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Demolished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Demolishing}.] [F. d[ e]molir, fr. L. demoliri, p. p. demolitus; de + moliri to set a thing in motion, to work, construct, from moles a huge mass or structure. See {Mole} a mound, and …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • demolish — index consume, damage, defeat, destroy (efface), devastate, eliminate (eradicate), eradicate …   Law dictionary

  • demolish — 1560s, from M.Fr. demoliss , prp. stem of démolir to destroy, tear down (late 14c.), from L. demoliri tear down, from de down (see DE (Cf. de )) + moliri build, construct, from moles (gen. molis) massive structure (see …   Etymology dictionary

  • demolish — *destroy, raze Analogous words: wreck, *ruin, dilapidate: devastate, *ravage, waste, sack Antonyms: construct …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • demolish — [v] destroy; consume annihilate, break, bulldoze, burst, crack, crush, decimate, defeat, devastate, devour, dilapidate, dismantle, eat, flatten, gobble up, knock down, level, obliterate, overthrow, overturn, pulverize, put away, put in toilet*,… …   New thesaurus

  • demolish — ► VERB 1) pull or knock down (a building). 2) comprehensively refute or defeat. 3) humorous eat up (food) quickly. ORIGIN Latin demoliri, from moliri construct …   English terms dictionary

  • demolish — [di mäl′ish] vt. [< extended stem of Fr démolir < L demoliri, to pull down, destroy < de , down + moliri, to build, construct < moles, a mass: see MOLE3] 1. to pull down, tear down, or smash to pieces (a building, etc.) 2. to destroy; …   English World dictionary

  • demolish — [[t]dɪmɒ̱lɪʃ[/t]] demolishes, demolishing, demolished 1) VERB To demolish something such as a building means to destroy it completely. [V n] A storm moved directly over the island, demolishing buildings and flooding streets... [V n] The building… …   English dictionary

  • demolish — [16] To demolish something is etymologically to ‘deconstruct’ it. The word comes from demoliss , the stem of Old French demolir, which in turn came from Latin dēmōlīrī ‘throw down, demolish’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dē ,… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • demolish */ — UK [dɪˈmɒlɪʃ] / US [dɪˈmɑlɪʃ] verb [transitive] Word forms demolish : present tense I/you/we/they demolish he/she/it demolishes present participle demolishing past tense demolished past participle demolished 1) a) to deliberately destroy a… …   English dictionary

  • demolish — [16] To demolish something is etymologically to ‘deconstruct’ it. The word comes from demoliss , the stem of Old French demolir, which in turn came from Latin dēmōlīrī ‘throw down, demolish’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dē ,… …   Word origins

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