Meanings
plural demolitions
- countableuncountableThe process of demolishing or destroying buildings or other structures.
At Kiwi, 40 miles from Nelson [New Zealand], eight women installed themselves in the goods shed, taking with them their knitting, and a supply of food and magazines. The demolition crew was unable to pull the building down without injuring them.
1955 December, “Notes and News: Women Delay Railway Demolition”, in Railway Magazine, page 8782 more examples
During the war, but unrecorded because of the requirements of censorship, a link with the now partly-abandoned Cardiff Railway disappeared with the demolition of Rhydyfelin Viaduct, near Treforest, South Wales, in the latter part of 1942. The steelwork in this structure, amounting to nearly 1,150 tons, was salvaged as scrap metal to assist the war effort.
1946 January and February, “Notes and News: Demolition of Rhydyfelin Viaduct”, in Railway Magazine, page 52Among other work done, according to the letter: CPR replaced the bottom of a deteriorating stair column base with hollow steel structural sections; conducted exploratory demolition on the underside of an eave that required “removal and reconstruction”; and removed all loose “cracked, spalled, deteriorated, and delaminated concrete” and damaged stucco from the underside of balcony eaves on 114 of the building’s 136 units, the letter said.
2021 July 2, Eliott C. McLaughlin, Alta Spells, Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, “Firm held off on repairs because of stability issues in months before Surfside building collapse”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Nov 2021
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan event that completely destroys something
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindēmōlītiō“a tearing down”
- Old Frenchdemolition
- Englishdemolition
From Old French demolition, from Latin dēmōlītiō (“a tearing down”). Equivalent to demolish + -ion.
More words from Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek καθαίρεσις
- καθαίρεσις (kathaíresis)the action of demolishing or destroying
Arabic هَدْم
- هَدْم (hadm)the action of demolishing or destroying
Bulgarian събаряне, срутване
- събаряне (săbarjane)the action of demolishing or destroying
- срутване (srutvane)the action of demolishing or destroying
Catalan demolició
- demolicióthe action of demolishing or destroying
Czech demolice, bourání
- demolicethe action of demolishing or destroying
- bouráníthe action of demolishing or destroying
- ničeníthe action of demolishing or destroying
Danish nedrivning, demolering
- nedrivningthe action of demolishing or destroying
- demoleringthe action of demolishing or destroying
Dutch sloop, afbraak
- sloopthe action of demolishing or destroying
- afbraakthe action of demolishing or destroying
Finnish purku, purkaminen
- purkuthe action of demolishing or destroying
- purkaminenthe action of demolishing or destroying
- hajottaminenthe action of demolishing or destroying
French démolition
- démolitionthe action of demolishing or destroying
German Zerstörung, Abriss
- Zerstörungthe action of demolishing or destroying
- Abrissthe action of demolishing or destroying
- Demolierungthe action of demolishing or destroying
- Abbruchthe action of demolishing or destroying
Hebrew הריסה
- הריסה (harisa)the action of demolishing or destroying
Hindi विनाश, विध्वंस
- विनाश (vināś)the action of demolishing or destroying
- विध्वंस (vidhvans)the action of demolishing or destroying
Indonesian penghancuran
- penghancuranthe action of demolishing or destroying
Italian demolizione
- demolizionethe action of demolishing or destroying
Latin disturbātiō
- disturbātiōthe action of demolishing or destroying
Malay perobohan
- perobohanthe action of demolishing or destroying
Māori tukitukinga, turakanga
- tukitukingathe action of demolishing or destroying
- turakangathe action of demolishing or destroying
Polish rozbiórka
- rozbiórkathe action of demolishing or destroying
Portuguese demolição
- demoliçãothe action of demolishing or destroying
Russian снос
- снос (snos)the action of demolishing or destroying
Spanish demolición, derribo
- demoliciónthe action of demolishing or destroying
- derribothe action of demolishing or destroying
Swahili ubomoaji
- ubomoajithe action of demolishing or destroying
Swedish demolering
- demoleringthe action of demolishing or destroying
Tagalog paggiba, demolisyon
- paggibathe action of demolishing or destroying
- demolisyonthe action of demolishing or destroying
Ukrainian знесення
- знесення (znesennja)the action of demolishing or destroying
Welsh chwalu, chwalfa
- chwaluthe action of demolishing or destroying
- chwalfathe action of demolishing or destroying
- dymchweliadthe action of demolishing or destroying
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
demolition. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demolition
“demolition.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demolition. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “demolition,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demolition.
Source: demolition on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.