Verb

ab|bauen

Translation

to dismantle, to reduce, to mine, to break down

Wir müssen das Zelt abbauen.

We have to take down the tent.

Die Firma will Personal abbauen.

The company wants to reduce staff.

In dieser Region wird Kohle abgebaut.

Coal is mined in this region.

Er hat nach der Krankheit stark abgebaut.

He deteriorated significantly after the illness.

((et4)) to take sth. down, dismantle sth. Let's take down the Christmas decorations.

((et4)) to reduce sth. The city wants to reduce traffic.

((et4)) to mine sth. The company mines coal here.

(intransitive) to decline, weaken After the surgery, he weakened considerably.

Synonyms: deconstruct, decrease, mine; Antonyms: aufbauen (to build up), errichten (to erect)

Composed of 'ab-' (away, down) and 'bauen' (to build). The literal sense is 'to build in reverse' or 'deconstruct'.

Visualize taking something apart piece by piece. You 'bauen' (build) a shelf, and when you move, you 'abbauen' (dismantle) it.