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Webster 1913 Edition


Dilapidate

Di-lap′i-date

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Dilapidated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Dilapidating
.]
[L.
dilapidare
to scatter like stones;
di- = dis-
+
lapidare
to throw stones, fr.
lapis
a stone. See
Lapidary
.]
1.
To bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin, by misuse or through neglect; to destroy the fairness and good condition of; – said of a building.
If the bishop, parson, or vicar, etc.,
dilapidates
the buildings, or cuts down the timber of the patrimony.
Blackstone.
2.
To impair by waste and abuse; to squander.
The patrimony of the bishopric of Oxon was much
dilapidated
.
Wood.

Di-lap′i-date

,
Verb.
I.
To get out of repair; to fall into partial ruin; to become decayed;
as, the church was suffered to
dilapidate
.
Johnson.

Webster 1828 Edition


Dilapidate

DILAPIDATE

,
Verb.
I.
[L., to stone; a stone. It seems originally to have signified to pull down stone-work, or to suffer such work to fall to pieces.] To go to ruin; to fall by decay.

DILAPIDATE

, v.t.
1.
To pull down; to waste or destroy; to suffer to go to ruin.
If the bishop, parson, or vicar, &c., dilapidates the buildings, or cuts down the timber of the patrimony of the church--
2.
To waste; to squander.

Definition 2024


dilapidate

dilapidate

English

Verb

dilapidate (third-person singular simple present dilapidates, present participle dilapidating, simple past and past participle dilapidated)

  1. To fall into ruin or disuse.
  2. To cause to become ruined or put into disrepair.
    • Blackstone
      If the bishop, parson, or vicar, etc., dilapidates the buildings, or cuts down the timber of the patrimony []
    • 1883, George Bernard Shaw, An Unsocial Socialist, chapter VI
      In the last days of autumn he had whitewashed the chalet, painted the doors, windows, and veranda, repaired the roof and interior, and improved the place so much that the landlord had warned him that the rent would be raised at the expiration of his twelvemonth's tenancy, remarking that a tenant could not reasonably expect to have a pretty, rain-tight dwelling-house for the same money as a hardly habitable ruin. Smilash had immediately promised to dilapidate it to its former state at the end of the year.
  3. (figuratively) To squander or waste.
    • Wood
      The patrimony of the bishopric of Oxon was much dilapidated.

Related terms

Translations


Italian

Verb

dilapidate

  1. second-person plural present indicative of dilapidare
  2. second-person plural imperative of dilapidare
  3. feminine plural of dilapidato