demolish

present singular third person demolishes · participle present demolishing · participle past demolished · past demolished

1. literallytransitiveTo destroy (buildings, etc.), especially in a planned or intentional fashion.

   They demolished the old mill and put up four townhouses.

   3 more examples

   The station did not have a long life, as it was demolished between 1884 and 1888 to make room for a new and larger station which forms part of the present Liverpool Exchange Station.

   1957 August 28, “Notes and News: Tithebarn Street Station, Liverpool”, in Railway Magazine, page 590

   The force of the explosion demolished one pair of piers and two spans of the bridge crashed down into the river on top of the barges.

   1961 January, “Talking of Trains: The Severn Bridge disaster”, in Trains Illustrated, page 5

   At Hawick, nothing remains of the station, and the viaduct over the River Teviot is one of a number of bridges that were demolished or removed following closure.

   2020 May 6, Graeme Pickering, “Borders Railway: time for the next step”, in Rail, page 53

2. figurativelytransitiveTo defeat, refute, discredit, or consume utterly (as a theory, belief or opponent).

   Andrew Johnson scored a hat-trick as Fulham demolished London rivals Queens Park Rangers to win their Premier League fixture of the season.

   2011 October 2, Kevin Core, “Fulham 6 - 0 QPR”, in BBC Sport

   2 more examples

   The Captain folded his brow into a look of intense perplexity. 'You seem exceedingly spry for a man who demolished an entire bottle of brandy and better part of an ounce of shag in a single evening.' 'And very nice too,' said the tramp. 'Now as to breakfast?'

   1992, Robert Rankin, The Antipope, page 68

   The table opposite me is occupied by a young couple with a table full of alcohol and snacks. In a role reversal, he is drinking Smirnoff Ice while she steadily demolishes a six-pack of lager!

   2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 74

3. transitiveTo devour; to eat up

   “Thanks, Raj.” Frank was too hungry to worry about Raj’s gob gloop on the bar, and happily demolished it in seconds.

   2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN