to destroy or ruin (a building or other structure), esp. on purpose; tear down; raze.
2.
to put an end to; destroy; explode: The results of his research demolished many theories.
3.
to lay waste to; ruin utterly: The fire demolished the area.
4.
Informal. to devour completely: We simply demolished that turkey.
[Origin: 1560–70; < MF démoliss-, s. of démolir < L démōlīrī to destroy, equiv. to dé-de-+ mōlīrī to set in motion, struggle (mōl(és) mass, bulk + -īrī inf. suffix)]
1570, from M.Fr. demoliss-, stem of demolir "to destroy, tear down" (1383), from L. demoliri "tear down," from de- "down" + moliri "build, construct," from moles (gen. molis) "massive structure." Demolition is from 1549; demolition derby is 1956, Amer.Eng., defined by OED as "a contest in which old cars are battered into one another, the last one running being declared the winner."
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 Finish.] 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; a 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.
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