dismantling

dismantling
    n 1: the act of taking something apart (as a piece of
         machinery); "Russia and the United States discussed the
         dismantling of their nuclear weapons" [syn: {dismantling},
         {dismantlement}, {disassembly}] [ant: {assemblage},
         {assembly}, {fabrication}, {gathering}]
    

Dismantle \Dis*man"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Dismantled}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Dismantling}.] [F. d['e]manteler, OF.
   desmanteler; pref: des- (L. dis-) + manteler to cover with a
   cloak, defend, fr. mantel, F. manteau, cloak. See {Mantle}.]
   1. To strip or deprive of dress; to divest.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To strip of furniture and equipments, guns, etc.; to
      unrig; to strip of walls or outworks; to break down; as,
      to dismantle a fort, a town, or a ship.
      [1913 Webster]

            A dismantled house, without windows or shutters to
            keep out the rain.                    --Macaulay.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To disable; to render useless. --Comber.

   Syn: To demo?sh; raze. See {Demol?sh}.
        [1913 Webster]