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abreißen

tear down

verb AP-ry-sen Less Common
Home & Lifestyle Construction

Origin: from ab + reißen ('to tear')

Also means

tear off

Usage Note

abreißen is a separable verb meaning to 'demolish' a building or 'tear off' a piece: Sie reißen das Haus ab ('they tear the house down'). The prefix ab- goes to the end of the clause. Intransitively it can mean a connection 'breaks off' suddenly.

Examples

"Sie reißen das alte Haus ab."

Natural Translation

They are tearing down the old house.

Literal Translation

They tear the old house down.

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