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razee

American  
[ray-zee] / reɪˈzi /

noun

  1. a ship, especially a warship, reduced in height by the removal of the upper deck.


verb (used with object)

razeed, razeeing
  1. to cut down (a wooden ship) by removing the upper deck.

razee British  
/ ˈræziː /

noun

  1. a sailing ship that has had its upper deck or decks removed

"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

verb

  1. to remove the upper deck or decks of (a sailing ship)

"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

Etymology

Origin of razee

1785–95; < French ( vaisseau ) rasé razed (ship), past participle of raser to raze


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Twice a 74 captured or destroyed two frigates, and a razee performed a similar feat.

From The Naval War of 1812 Or the History of the United States Navy during the Last War with Great Britain to Which Is Appended an Account of the Battle of New Orleans by Theodore Roosevelt

On the 26th of July, 1847, the Columbus, seventy-four, bearing the pennant of Commodore Biddle, sailed from San Francisco for the United States, leaving the flag of the Commander-in-Chief, flying on board the razee Independence.

From Los Gringos Or, An Inside View of Mexico and California, with Wanderings in Peru, Chili, and Polynesia by H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise

"We'll bring him back, boys, if we have ter go ter Virginny City an' razee the town," said Missoo.

From Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XIII, Nov. 28, 1891 by James Elverson

The Endymion would never have engaged the frigate President, but knowing herself backed by three frigates and a razee, who, though somewhat slower sailors, would get up before she could be taken.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 4 by Thomas Jefferson Randolph

Of course America had no means of raising a blockade, as each squadron contained generally a 74 or a razee, vessels too heavy for any in our navy to cope with.

From The Naval War of 1812 Or the History of the United States Navy during the Last War with Great Britain to Which Is Appended an Account of the Battle of New Orleans by Theodore Roosevelt

Owing to its pyramidal shape, the reduction of the chimney inordinately widened its razeed summit.

From I and My Chimney by Herman Melville

At last, I took their advice, and "razeed" them, as they phrased it.

From Redburn. His First Voyage by Herman Melville

Frank, there, will wear his old monkey jacket, the skirts of which he razeed last winter for the very purpose.

From Warwick Woodlands Things as they Were There Twenty Years Ago by Henry William Herbert

Meanwhile, the others had razeed a frigate, the Merrimac, and upon an angular roof laid railroad-iron to make her shot-proof.

From The Lincoln Story Book A Judicious Collection of the Best Stories and Anecdotes of the Great President, Many Appearing Here for the First Time in Book Form by Henry Llewellyn Williams

The sloop being in the stream, we boarded her from the beach abreast, in the little razeed Gloucester dory, which had been painted a smart green.

From The Life of Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson by Nellie Van de Grift Sanchez

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