1
general::
Phrase(s): burn someone down
Sl. to humiliate someone. • Man, don’t you ever burn me down like that again! • You just want to burn down everybody to make yourself seem better., Phrase(s): burn down
1. [for a building] to be destroyed by fire. • The barn burned down. • There was a fire, and the old factory was burned down. 2. [for a fire] to burn and dwindle away. • The flame burned down and then went out. • As the fire burned down, it began to get cold., Phrase(s): burn something down
[for a fire] to destroy a building completely. • The fire burned the barn down. • It burned down the barn.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
1. Completely consume by fire, burn to the ground, as in Their house burned down and they had nowhere to go. [Mid-1800s] 2. Diminish for lack of fuel, as in The fire will soon burn down. [Late 1800s]
American Heritage Idioms