From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrazeraze /reɪz/ verb [transitive] DESTROYto completely destroy a town or building In 1162 Milan was razed to the ground by imperial troops.Grammar Raze is usually passive.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
raze• Since January, the city has razed 13 houses for building and zoning code violations and billed the owners, Khalil said.• But Vargas said the strengthened designation might make a judge more reluctant to order the cross razed.• The old theater will be razed and replaced with housing.• It occupies the site of a former school that was razed by fire.• It says that the company razed forests, polluted rivers, retarded crop growth and caused birth defects.• In typical Atlanta fashion, it was razed in 1977 to make room for the new Atlanta-Fulton Public Library.• They buy up an entire slum block, raze it and erect a castle containing theaters, concert halls and restaurants.• A massive Roman army besieged Jerusalem, utterly destroying the Temple and razing the city to the ground.• Many other important buildings were also razed to the ground.razed to the ground• He handed over the keys to Angoulême and Montignac and their walls too were razed to the ground.• Many other important buildings were also razed to the ground.• One of the three supermarkets looted was razed to the ground.• The towns of Kohlizt and the Temple of Sigmar at Nachtdorf were razed to the ground.• Her house had been razed to the ground and her husband killed.• If their Josie was planning on being a second Maria, then the school could well be razed to the ground by now.• Milan challenged the new ruler and for its troubles was razed to the ground in 1162.Origin raze (1500-1600) Old French raser, from Latin radere “to scrape, shave” 