# raze
## English
### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: rāz, IPA: /ɹeɪz/
* Audio (General American):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Homophones: raise, rase, rays, rehs, réis, res
* Rhymes: -eɪz

### Etymology 1

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; (figuratively) to expunge, obliterate; to alter”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman raser, rasere, rasser, Middle French, 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).

#### 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.
** 2017 May 13, Barney Ronay, “Antonio Conte’s brilliance has turned Chelsea’s pop-up team into champions”, in The Guardian‎, London:Just as significant in the long term, Chelsea were also granted permission this season for their new on-site mega-stadium, a 60,000-seat upgrade that will mean the current Stamford Bridge is razed and replaced by something that looks like a vast alien space yurt made of giant Martian redwood stems.
** 2018 December 1, Drachinifel, 9:45 from the start, in Anti-Slavery Patrols - The West Africa Squadron‎, archived from the original on 29 November 2024:After his actions were challenged by foreign governments and Parliament initially tried to put a stop to his action, Denman returned home and argued his case with enough force that, by 1848, the Royal Navy was handed active permission and encouragement to raze every last slave factory they could find to the ground, and full authority to stop any ship, of any flag, that was thought to be a slaver, with a guarantee with no censure from the government.
* (transitive) To destroy; to strike out of existence; to obliterate.
** c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act IIII, scene i:UUithout reſpect of ſex, degree or age. He raceth all his foes with fire and ſword.
** 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:We both loved her now and for all time, she was stamped and carven on our hearts, and no other woman or interest could ever raze that splendid die.
* (transitive) To scrape as if with a razor.
** c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:Draw forth thy ſword, thou mightie man at armes, Intending but to raiſe my charmed ſkin: And Ioue himſelfe will ſtretch his hand from heauen, To ward the blow, and ſhield me ſafe from harme, […]

##### Synonyms

* See also Thesaurus:destroy

##### Translations
### Etymology 2
#### Noun

raze
* Obsolete spelling of race (rhizome of ginger).

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

raze (plural razes)
* A swinging fence in a watercourse to prevent cattle passing through.

### References

* ↑ “rāsen, v.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* ↑ Compare “raze, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “raze, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

### Further reading

* raze (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Anagrams

* Azer, Azer., Ezra, Reza

## Dutch
### Verb

raze
* (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of razen

### Anagrams

* Ezra

## Friulian
### Etymology 1

Uncertain; possibly of South Slavic or substrate origin. Compare Slovene raca, Romanian rață.

#### Noun

raze f (plural razis)
* duck

### Etymology 2

Compare Italian razza.

#### Noun

raze f (plural razis)
* race
* breed
* strain

## Haitian Creole
### Etymology

From French raser.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɣaze/

### Verb

raze
* to shave

### References

* Targète, Jean and Urciolo, Raphael G. Haitian Creole-English dictionary (1993; →ISBN)

## Romanian
### Pronunciation

IPA: [ˈraze]

### Noun

raze f
* inflection of rază:
** indefinite genitive/dative singular
** indefinite nominative/accusative/genitive/dative plural