burn down

1. To destroy something with fire. We watched helplessly as our house burned down despite the firefighters' efforts. Every row house on the block would have burned down, if not for the heroic efforts of the fire department. Hey, get those candles away from the edge of the table! Are you trying to burn down the house?

2. To weaken or wane, as of a flame. Get the birthday girl in here—the candles on her cake are burning down! The kids were totally mesmerized by the sparklers as they watched them burn down. It's getting cold in here again because the fire has burned 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. I know I have big ears, so you're not going to burn me down with some insult—I've heard them all before. Some of the veterans are just jerks who delight in burning the rookies down in front of everyone else.

burn someone down

tv. to humiliate someone. You just want to burn down everybody to make yourself seem better.