raze

verb

ˈrāz 

razed; razing

transitive verb

1

: to destroy to the ground : demolish

raze an old building

2

a

: to scrape, cut, or shave off

b

archaic : erase

razer noun

Synonyms

• demolish
• destroy
• ruin
• devastate
• shatter
• wreck
• smash

Examples of raze in a Sentence

an entire city block razed by a terrible fire

the developer razed the old school building and built a high-rise condominium complex

Recent Examples on the Web

Our client, the owner of the mobile home park, had to raze the lady’s mobile home due to the remaining toxic wastes. —Christopher A. Combs, AZCentral.com, 19 Aug. 2025

More than 12,000 buildings burned to the ground and thousands of acres were razed to ashes. —Chloe Mayer, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025

The dwelling, which at one point belonged to Lisa Marie Presley, was razed, and the lot was relandscaped for privacy and possible future development. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 8 Aug. 2025

Certain buildings are being razed next door to others that keep cranking out 3 Series and 4 Series sedans and coupes, plus i4 electric cars. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of rase

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for raze

• baize
• bays
• blase
• blaze
• braes
• braze
• chaise
• claes
• clays
• craze
• dais
• days

Kids Definition

raze

verb

ˈrāz 

razed; razing

: to destroy completely by knocking down or breaking to pieces : demolish

razed the building