raze

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To level or tear down (a building, a town, etc.) to the ground; to demolish.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To completely remove (someone or something), especially from a place, a situation, etc.; also, to remove from existence; to destroy, to obliterate.
3. (also, figuratively, transitive) To erase (a record, text, etc.), originally by scraping; to rub out, to scratch out.
4. (regional, transitive) To wound (someone or part of their body) superficially; to graze.
5. (obsolete, transitive) To alter (a document) by erasing parts of it.
6. (obsolete, transitive) To carve (a line, mark, etc.) into something; to incise, to inscribe; also, to carve lines, marks, etc., into (something); to engrave.
7. (obsolete, transitive) To remove (something) by scraping; also, to cut or shave (something) off.
8. (obsolete, transitive) To rub lightly along the surface of (something); brush against, to graze.
9. (obsolete, transitive) To scrape (something), with or as if with a razor, to remove things from its surface; also, to reduce (something) to small pieces by scraping; to grate.
10. (obsolete, transitive) To shave (someone or part of their body) with a razor, etc.
11. (also, figuratively, obsolete, transitive) To cut, scratch, or tear (someone or something) with a sharp object; to lacerate, to slash.
12. (intransitive, obsolete) To carve lines, marks, etc., into something.
13. (intransitive, obsolete) To graze or rub lightly along a surface.
14. (intransitive, obsolete) To penetrate through something; to pierce.
15. (intransitive, obsolete, rare) Of a horse: to wear down its corner teeth as it ages, losing the black marks in their crevices.

Noun

A slight wound; a scratch; also, a cut, a slit.

Noun

Obsolete spelling of race (“rhizome of ginger”).

Noun

A swinging fence in a watercourse to prevent cattle passing through.

Synonyms

demolish

destroy

tear down

rase

pull down

dismantle

level

crush

ravage

take down

break

flatten

break down

devour

blot out

exterminate

interdict

key

🔑

kill

🔪🩸👤

knock out

lay

level off

nuke

obliterate

plaster

plunder

pulverise

scrape

shave

shipwreck

smear

smudge

spoil

subvert

take apart

pare down

total

unbuild

vandalise

vandalize

vaporize

wipe

wrack

wreck

cut to ribbons

lay waste to

annihilate

deminish

bang up

blast

Translations

arrasar

abbattere

niederreißen

raser

κατεδαφίζω

démolir

αξαλείφω

γκρεμίζω

zermalmen

demolire

demolieren

auslöschen

σβήνω

διαγράφω

γδέρνω

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹeɪz/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: rasen

In summary

The verb is derived from Middle English rasen, racen, rase (“to scrape; to shave; to erase; to pull; to strip off; to pluck or tear out; to root out (a tree, etc.); to pull away, snatch; to pull down; to knock down; to rend, tear apart; to pick clean, strip; to cleave, slice; to sever; to lacerate; to pierce; to carve, engrave; to dig; (figurative) to expunge, obliterate; to alter”), from Anglo-Norman raser, rasere, rasser, Middle French raser, and Old French raser (“to shave; to touch lightly, graze; to level off (grain, etc.) in a measure; to demolish, tear down; to erase; to polish; to wear down”), from Vulgar Latin *raso (“to shave; to scrape; to scratch; to touch lightly, graze”), from Latin rāsus (“scraped; shaved”), the perfect passive participle of rādō (“to scrape, scratch; to shave; to rub, smooth; to brush along, graze”). Doublet of rash (etymology 2 and etymology 7).
The noun is derived from the verb.