raze
/reɪz
/(also rase)
verb [with object]
Completely destroy (a building, town, or other settlement): villages were razed to the ground...
- Next it was the turn of armoured bulldozers to raze building after building.
- A frenzy of hotel building razed old neighbourhoods and transformed city centres.
- Military bulldozers yesterday knocked down all the structures in Kadim, and were razing buildings in Ganim.
Synonyms
destroy, demolish, raze to the ground, tear down, pull down, knock down, knock to pieces, level, flatten, bulldoze, fell, wipe out, lay waste, ruin, wreck
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'scratch, incise'): from Old French raser 'shave closely', from Latin ras- 'scraped', from the verb radere.