tearing 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.
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.
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.
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