tear down

Verb

tear down (third-person singular simple present tears down, present participle tearing down, simple past tore down, past participle torn down)

1. (transitive) To demolish.
   • They're going to tear down the old shack when they redevelop the land.
   • If any building within the fire limits of the city of Pendleton shall be so damaged by fire, by the elements, or from any other cause, that the same shall become and be untenantable and unsafe, the common council shall have power to tear down and remove the same as hereinafter provided, and to...1899, Laws of the State of Oregon, page 738
2. (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.
   • The crew tore down the whole engine and reassembled it under the constant observation of an Allison inspector with Army inspectors continually checking the work.1943, “Manufacturing Simplification”, in Western Aviation, Missiles, and Space, volume 23, page 200
3. (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.
   • I would want to have more grounds for my suspiciou than I have ever heard one of those men express before I would come out and condemn him and tear down his character in the way I have heard those men in District 15 tear down the character of our officers.1909, Proceedings of the Thirteenth Biennial Convention of the International Association of Machinists, page 37
4. To move at high speed along.
   • She watched the SUV tear down the highway in front of them .2014, Kevin O'Brien, The Last Victim
   • He was right: if Joel knew someone was watching, he'd tear down the road with the bike up on just the rear tire.2017, Quentin Casey, The Sea Was in Their Blood