demolish

verb

de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmä-lish How to pronounce demolish (audio)
demolished; demolishing; demolishes
Synonyms of demolish

transitive verb

1
: tear down, raze
demolish a building
2
: to cause irreparable damage to: such as
a
: to break to pieces : smash
His car was demolished in the accident.
b
: to do away with : destroy
… a filibuster which would effectively demolish the issue …—Current Biography
… a performance so awkward and apathetic it instantly appeared to demolish any chance of restoring her declining career …—Dave Itzkoff
c
: to strip of any pretense of merit or credence
demolished her debate opponents
demolish a stereotype
demolished myths about the disease
3
informal : to defeat (a person or team) easily or completely
4
informal : to eat all of quickly
demolished the pizza
demolisher noun
demolishment
di-ˈmä-lish-mənt How to pronounce demolish (audio)
noun

Synonyms of demolish

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of demolish in a Sentence

The old factory was demolished to make way for a new parking lot. Tons of explosives were used to demolish the building. The town hopes to restore the old theater rather than have it demolished. The car was demolished in the accident. They demolished the other team 51–7.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And the first round this year certainly had its shining moments – from demolishing Paraguay to tidily dispatching Australia. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 30 June 2026 Although there were some airstrikes around Kfaroue, the area was relatively calm compared to areas closer to the border with Israel, where entire villages have been demolished and large swathes of land occupied by Israeli troops. — ABC News, 3 July 2026 The rare double quake—known as a doublet— completely demolished and devastated entire neighborhoods, with some of the worst damage in the capital of Caracas and the nearby state of La Guaira, along the northern coast. — Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2026 The first phase is the work being undertaken currently, with the houses, fanzone and hospitality being removed and the temporary buildings, which previously hosted the away dressing rooms and club offices, also demolished. — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for demolish

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French demolir, extended stem demoliss- (with final conformed to earlier English verbs with the same ending, as nourish, perish), borrowed from Latin dēmōlīrī, dēmōlīre "to throw off, pull down, raze," from dē- de- + mōlīrī "to labor to bring about, strive, build, construct." probably derivative of mōlēs "large mass, massive structure, effort, exertion" — more at mole entry 4

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of demolish was in 1560

Rhymes for demolish

See All Rhymes for demolish

Browse Nearby Words

DeMolay
demolish
demolition
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Demolish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demolish. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

demolish

verb
de·​mol·​ish di-ˈmäl-ish How to pronounce demolish (audio)
a
: tear down, raze
b
: to break to pieces : smash 2 : to do away with : put an end to
demolisher noun
demolishment
-ish-mənt How to pronounce demolish (audio)
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on demolish

Nglish: Translation of demolish for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All