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raze

or rase

[reyz]
verb (used with object), razed, raz·ing.
  1. to tear down; demolish; level to the ground: to raze a row of old buildings.
  2. to shave or scrape off.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for razer

Historical Examples of razer

  • I razer zink I am,” returned the philosopher with a faint smile; “mine onkle, I zink, is spraint.

    Blown to Bits

    R.M. Ballantyne

  • I'm razer frightened to go to buy them alone; sometimes that old woman does look so cross.

    Little Miss Peggy

    Mrs. Molesworth

  • So Procurio laid them out in neat array also a razer and brush for shaving.

British Dictionary definitions for razer

raze

rase

verb (tr)
  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
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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 razer

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper