demolish Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb destroy completely
    pulverise; pulverize.
    • the wrecking ball demolished the building
    • demolish your enemies
    • pulverize the rebellion before it gets out of hand
  2. verb humiliate or depress completely
    crush; smash.
    • She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation
    • The death of her son smashed her
  3. verb defeat soundly
    destroy.
    • The home team demolished the visitors

WordNet

De*mol"ish transitive verb
Etymology
F. démolir, 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 Finish.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Demolished ; present participle & verbal noun Demolishing
Definitions
  1. To throw or pull down; to raze; to destroy the fabric of; to pull to pieces; to ruin; as, to demolish an edifice, or a wall.
    I expected the fabric of my book would long since have been demolished, and laid even with the ground. Tillotson.
    Syn. -- To Demolish, Overturn, Destroy, Dismantle, Raze. That is overturned or overthrown which had stood upright; that is destroyed whose component parts are scattered; that is demolished which had formed a mass or structure; that is dismantled which is stripped of its covering, as a vessel of its sails, or a fortress of its bastions, etc.; that is razed which is brought down smooth, and level to the ground. An ancient pillar is overturned or overthrown as the result of decay; as city is destroyed by an invasion of its enemies; a monument, the walls of a castle, a church, or any structure, real or imaginary, may be demolished; a fortress may be dismantled from motives of prudence, in order to render it defenseless; a city may be razed by way of punishment, and its ruins become a memorial of vengeance.

Webster 1913