demolish meaning

demolish means 'to completely destroy or tear down something'.

demolish :

to destroy, to tear down

Verb

▪ They will demolish the old building.

▪ They will destroy the old building.

▪ The city decided to demolish the abandoned factory.

▪ The city decided to destroy the abandoned factory.

paraphrasing

▪ destroy – to demolish

▪ tear down – to demolish

▪ dismantle – to demolish

▪ raze – to demolish

demolish

Pronunciation

demolish [dɪˈmɒlɪʃ]

The stress is on the second syllable 'mol' and sounds like 'di-MOL-ish'.

Common phrases and grammar about demolish

demolish - Common meaning

Verb
to destroy, to tear down

Part of Speech Changes for "demolish"

▪ demolition (noun) – the act of demolishing or tearing down something

▪ demolisher (noun) – someone who demolishes

Common Expressions with "demolish"

▪ demolish the building – to tear the building down

▪ demolish completely – to destroy fully

▪ demolish in one piece – to destroy without leaving parts

▪ demolish quickly – to destroy fast

Important examples of demolish in TOEIC

Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC word questions, demolish is often used to talk about destroying buildings or structures.

▪They decided to demolish the old office to build a new one.
▪They decided to destroy the old office to build a new one.

Example of a confusing word: diminish (to reduce)

▪They decided to diminish the old office to build a new one.
▪They decided to reduce the size of the old office to build a new one.
"Demolish" means "to completely destroy" a structure, usually referring to buildings. In the sentence "They decided to demolish the old office," it correctly conveys the idea of tearing down the entire structure. "Diminish," on the other hand, means "to reduce" in size, importance, or intensity and does not fit the context of physically tearing down a building. Thus, using "diminish" in this sentence is grammatically incorrect and does not convey the intended meaning. Therefore, "demolish" is the correct choice.

Grammar examples from the TOEIC test

Demolish is used as a transitive verb, requiring an object in TOEIC grammar questions.

▪The company will demolish the warehouse next month.
▪The company will destroy the warehouse next month.

demolish

Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC

demolish the building

'destroy the building', used when talking about removing old structures.

▪The city plans to demolish the old bridge.
▪The city plans to destroy the old bridge.

tear down

means 'demolish', used when talking about removing something.

▪They decided to tear down the old house.
▪They decided to demolish the old house.

Differences between similar words and demolish

demolish

,

destroy

differences

demolish is often used for buildings specifically, while destroy can be used for anything.

demolish
▪They decided to demolish the old library.
▪They decided to destroy the old library.
destroy
▪destroy – to ruin or break something completely

demolish

,

raze

differences

demolish means to tear down structures, while raze also means to destroy buildings but often implies complete level destruction.

demolish
▪They decided to demolish the old stadium.
▪raze implies complete leveling, while demolish might involve controlled tearing down.
raze
▪raze – to completely destroy a building or area
▪raze implies complete leveling, while demolish might involve controlled tearing down.

Words with the same origin as demolish

The origin of demolish

The word's root is unclear or difficult to confirm.

Word structure

The analysis of the word's composition is unclear.

Words with the same origin

The word's root is unclear or difficult to confirm.

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