burn down

burn down

1. To destroy something with fire. We watched helplessly as our house burned down despite the firefighters' efforts.
2. To weaken or wane, as of a flame. Get the birthday girl in here—the candles on her cake are burning down!
3. slang To embarrass someone (who can be mentioned between "burn" and "down"). Andrew must be really insecure because he's always trying to burn other people down with snide comments.
See also: burn, down
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

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.
See also: burn, down

burn something down

[for a fire] to destroy a building completely. The fire burned the barn down. It burned down the barn.
See also: burn, down

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.
See also: burn, down
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

burn down

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]
See also: burn, down
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

burn someone down

tv. to humiliate someone. You just want to burn down everybody to make yourself seem better.
See also: burn, down, someone
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • burn someone down
  • burn away
  • burn through
  • burn through (something)
  • knock the bottom out
  • knock the bottom out of
  • knock the bottom out of (someone or something)
  • snuff out
  • snuff someone out
  • inject (something) into (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
"He made a threat he was going to burn down the house," said Tim Gittins, prosecuting, at Newcastle Crown Court.
Torch home threat
He tried to burn down the ladies' toilets and then threw a sheepskin coat on top of the pub's al fresco seats and set it on fire.
Jail for pub arsonist
He also admitted intimidation, a charge alleging that, knowing that Mr Gilkes was a potential witness in court proceedings, he threatened to assault him and burn down his home.
Threat to burn is admitted
He had persuaded a builder to burn down the empty hotel and attempted to fraudulently obtain cash from an insurance company.
Council can demolish hotel
One of the makeshift torches carried by the invaders had fallen on a carpet, threatening to burn down the old wooden farmhouse.
Three up, three down. (Exercising the Right)
A MAN who threatened to burn down his house after an argument with his wife has been jailed for 12 months.
Man jailed for arson threat at house
What someone did in the case of Vail was burn down the timber-beamed restaurant.
POWDER BURN: Arson, Money and Mystery On Vail Mountain
Remarked Bos, "I just knew I had caused that barn to burn down."
Michigan Town Rejects Censorship Plan For Public Library
Such work has not addressed logging, which removes only selected trees, or surface fires that burn down individual trees but do not denude the forest.
Hidden Threats Take Toll in Amazon
Houses burn down as a result of electrical faults, you knew it could happen, you took the gamble, you lost.
The way we all lose [...]
We kept saying that he doesn't live here they said still we don't burn down the place he will not understand.
Maoists victimise family of deceased police informer
A MAN accused of murdering three people in a house fire threatened to burn down a woman's pub and her house with her children in it.
Sharkey trial told of pub threat
The angry crowd outside capital Islamabad demanded her arrest and threatened to burn down the homes of other Christians.
Down's girl arrested in Koran fury; PROTESTS
THE adoptive gran of Russian orphan whose new family sent him back Moscow alone on a plane claims the boy threatened to burn down the family home with them in it.
Boy 'sent back over fire threat'