Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
verb (used with object), dis·man·tled, dis·man·tling.
- to deprive or strip of apparatus, furniture, equipment, defenses, etc.: to dismantle a ship; to dismantle a fortress.
- to disassemble or pull down; take apart: They dismantled the machine and shipped it in pieces.
- to divest of dress, covering, etc.: The wind dismantled the trees of their leaves.
verb (tr)
- to take apart
- to demolish or raze
- to strip of covering
1570s, from Middle French desmanteler “to tear down the walls of a fortress,” literally “strip of a cloak,” from des- “off, away” (see dis-) + manteler “to cloak” (see mantle). Related: Dismantled; dismantling.