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.

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.

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

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

Syn: To demo?sh; raze. See Demol?sh.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)