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definitions

raze

or rase

[reyz]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR raze ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), razed, raz·ing.

to tear down; demolish; level to the ground: to raze a row of old buildings.
to shave or scrape off.

RELATED WORDS

obliterate, topple, demolish, overthrow, wreck, erase, smash, destroy, extinguish, bulldoze, scatter, dynamite, wrack, bomb, reduce, extirpate, capsize, total, zap, subvert

Nearby words

  1. rayon,
  2. rayonny,
  3. rayside-balfour,
  4. raytown,
  5. raza,
  6. razee,
  7. razoo,
  8. razor,
  9. razor blade,
  10. razor clam

Origin of raze

1540–50; Middle English rasen < Middle French raser < *Vulgar Latin rāsāre to scrape, frequentative of Latin rādere to scrape
Related formsraz·er, nounun·razed, adjective
Can be confusedraze raise

Synonym study

1. See destroy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for raze

British Dictionary definitions for raze

raze

rase

verb (tr)

to demolish (a town, buildings, etc) completely; level (esp in the phrase raze to the ground)
to delete; erase
archaic to graze
Derived Formsrazer or raser, noun

Word Origin for raze

C16: from Old French raser from Latin rādere to scrape
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for raze

raze

v.

1540s, alteration of racen "pull or knock down" (a building or town), from earlier rasen (14c.) "to scratch, slash, scrape, erase," from Old French raser "to scrape, shave" (see rase). Related: Razed; razing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper