Dictionary

demolition en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌdɛm.əˈlɪʃ.ən/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Old French demolition, from Latin dēmōlītiō (“a tearing down”). Equivalent to demolish + -ion.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The 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 878:
   • 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 52:
   • Among 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:

Forms

Deriveds

nondemolition · demolitionist · demolition derby · counterdemolition · demolition ball · redemolition

Relateds

teardown · wrecking bar · wrecking ball

Translations (50)

la disturbātiō (the action of demolishing or destroying) · cy chwalfa (the action of demolishing or destroying) · fi hajottaminen (the action of demolishing or destroying) · ka დანგრევა (the action of demolishing or destroying) · de Demolierung (the action of demolishing or destroying) · uk знесення (the action of demolishing or destroying) · cs demolice (the action of demolishing or destroying) · ka აღება (the action of demolishing or destroying) · id penghancuran (the action of demolishing or destroying) · hi विनाश (the action of demolishing or destroying) · hi विध्वंस (the action of demolishing or destroying) · da demolering (the action of demolishing or destroying) · nl sloop (the action of demolishing or destroying) · fr démolition (the action of demolishing or destroying) · sa नाश (the action of demolishing or destroying) · sv demolering (the action of demolishing or destroying) · cs bourání (the action of demolishing or destroying) · fi purku (the action of demolishing or destroying) · de Abriss (the action of demolishing or destroying) · cy chwalu (the action of demolishing or destroying) · ru снос (the action of demolishing or destroying) · tl paggiba (the action of demolishing or destroying) · ckb ڕوخاندن (the action of demolishing or destroying) · pt demolição (the action of demolishing or destroying) · mi turakanga (the action of demolishing or destroying) · sw ubomoaji (the action of demolishing or destroying) · bg срутване (the action of demolishing or destroying) · he הריסה (the action of demolishing or destroying) · cs ničení (the action of demolishing or destroying) · bg събаряне (the action of demolishing or destroying) · da nedrivning (the action of demolishing or destroying) · ka დაქცევა (the action of demolishing or destroying) · cy dymchweliad (the action of demolishing or destroying) · mk ру́шење (the action of demolishing or destroying) · fi purkaminen (the action of demolishing or destroying) · es derribo (the action of demolishing or destroying) · ms perobohan (the action of demolishing or destroying) · ar هَدْم (the action of demolishing or destroying) · pl rozbiórka (the action of demolishing or destroying) · hy քանդում (the action of demolishing or destroying) · mi tukitukinga (the action of demolishing or destroying) · tl demolisyon (the action of demolishing or destroying) · de Zerstörung (the action of demolishing or destroying) · de Abbruch (the action of demolishing or destroying) · grc καθαίρεσις (the action of demolishing or destroying) · es demolición (the action of demolishing or destroying) · ca demolició (the action of demolishing or destroying) · nl afbraak (the action of demolishing or destroying) · it demolizione (the action of demolishing or destroying) · mk ури́вање (the action of demolishing or destroying)