tear down

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tear down

/tɛə(ɹ)ˈdaʊn/

verb tears down · tearing down · tore down · torn down

transitive To demolish. They're going to tear down the old shack when they redevelop the land.
transitive To open and disassemble (a device or machine) to inspect, showcase, or refurbish its components. Top Fuel dragsters are sort of like fighter planes in the respect that the frequency with which their engines have to be torn down and rebuilt would be insanely unaffordable in any other context.
figuratively, transitive To degrade (someone): to discredit or criticize. If all you can offer is to tear down the efforts of all but the most precociously talented students, then maybe you're not cut out to be a primary school art teacher.
To move at high speed along. She watched the SUV tear down the highway in front of them .

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MLA

"tear down." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tear%20down. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tear down. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tear%20down

Chicago

"tear down." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tear%20down.

BibTeX

@misc{tear_down_2026,
  title = {tear down},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tear%20down},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}