raze
English
Etymology
From Old French raser
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ɹeɪz/; X-SAMPA: /r\eIz/; enPR: rāz
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Audio (US) (file) - Homophones: raise, rase, rays
- Rhymes: -eɪz
Verb
raze (third-person singular simple present razes, present participle razing, simple past and past participle razed)
- (transitive) To demolish; to level to the ground.
- The word ‘laconic’ derives from Lakon (“person from Lakonia”) the district around Sparta in southern Greece in ancient times, whose inhabitants were famous for their brevity of speech. When Philip of Macedon threatened them with, “If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta,” the Spartans’ reply was, “If.”
- (transitive) To scrape as if with a razor.
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:destroy
Translations
to demolish
to scrape as if with a razor
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