burn down

See also: burndown

English

Verb

burn down (third-person singular simple present burns down, present participle burning down, simple past burned down, past participle burnt down)

1. (transitive) To cause (a structure) to burn to nothing.

   The police are hoping to find the people who burned down the cottage.

2. (intransitive, of a structure) To burn completely, so that nothing remains.

   A fire which started in the bedroom caused the cottage to burn down.

   • 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 79:

     The first Earl's Court station (1871) was a wooden hut in the middle of a market garden. It served a District connection between West Brompton and the West London Line. It managed to burn down in 1875, and the Earl's Court of today dates from 1878.

Translations

cause a structure to burn to nothing

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 燒毀／烧毁 (zh) (shāohuǐ), 烧毁 (zh) (shāohuǐ), 焚毀／焚毁 (zh) (fénhuǐ), 焚毁 (zh) (fénhuǐ)

• Dutch: platbranden (nl), afbranden (nl)
• Finnish: polttaa (fi)
• French: carboniser (fr)
• Galician: carbonizar (gl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: abbrennen (de), niederbrennen
• Polish: spalić doszczętnie
• Portuguese: carbonizar
• Russian: сжечь дотла́ (sžečʹ dotlá)
• Spanish: incendiar (es), arrasar (es)

completely burn so that nothing remains

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 燒光／烧光 (zh), 烧光 (zh) (shāoguāng), 燒掉／烧掉 (zh), 烧掉 (zh) (shāodiào)

• Dutch: platbranden (nl), afbranden (nl)
• Finnish: palaa poroksi, palaa maan tasalle
• French: se carboniser (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Galician: carbonizar (gl) (pronominal)
• German: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: сгоре́ть дотла́ (sgorétʹ dotlá)
• Spanish: incendiarse