raze

Or rase

[reyz]

verb (used with object)

razed, razing 

1. to tear down; demolish; level to the ground.

   to raze a row of old buildings.

2. to shave or scrape off.

raze

/ reɪz /

verb

1. to demolish (a town, buildings, etc) completely; level (esp in the phrase raze to the ground )

2. to delete; erase

3. archaic,  to graze

Other Word Forms

• razer noun
• unrazed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of raze¹

1540–50; Middle English rasen < Middle French raser < *Vulgar Latin rāsāre to scrape, frequentative of Latin rādere to scrape

Word History and Origins

Origin of raze¹

C16: from Old French raser from Latin rādere to scrape

Synonym Study

See destroy.

Example Sentences

Israel's defence minister warned that Gaza City will be razed if Hamas does not agree to disarm and release all hostages.

From BBC

Plus, the couple’s ideas about sustainability — preserving natural landscapes and integrating them into their designs, rather than razing or altering them — have never been more resonant.

From Los Angeles Times

The company that owned Kinzua, the timber town where she grew up, razed it without a trace after shutting down operations in 1978.

From Salon

Perhaps no one represents the era better than the late urban planner Robert Moses, who shaped the New York City skyline and whose highway and bridge projects razed city blocks and neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times

Many other cities by this point had razed their neighborhoods where transients and derelicts stayed.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bulldoze 
• demolish 
• destroy 
• dynamite 
• erase 
• extinguish 
• obliterate 
• overthrow 
• scatter 
• smash 
• topple 
• wipe out 
• wreck