-ˌlapəˈdāshən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English dilapidacion, from Late Latin dilapidation-, dilapidatio action of squandering, from Latin dilapidatus + -ion-, -io -ion
1. : the act of dilapidating or the state of being dilapidated
the wreck of a ship in the last stages of dilapidation — R.L.Stevenson
2. English law
a. : ecclesiastical waste whether permissive or voluntary : waste of a building (as a parsonage) committed to the charge of ecclesiastical persons
b. : the charge for repairing such waste
3. : the natural disintegration and breaking away of rock from a cliff or mountainside ; also : the resulting debris