raze
Meanings
- To level or tear down (a building, a town, etc.) to the ground; to demolish.
- To completely remove (someone or something), especially from a place, a situation, etc.; also, to remove from existence; to destroy, to obliterate.
- To erase (a record, text, etc.), originally by scraping; to rub out, to scratch out.
- To wound (someone or part of their body) superficially; to graze.
- To alter (a document) by erasing parts of it.
- To carve (a line, mark, etc.) into something; to incise, to inscribe; also, to carve lines, marks, etc., into (something); to engrave.
- To remove (something) by scraping; also, to cut or shave (something) off.
- To rub lightly along the surface of (something); brush against, to graze.
- To scrape (something), with or as if with a razor, to remove things from its surface; also, to reduce (something) to small pieces by scraping; to grate.
- To shave (someone or part of their body) with a razor, etc.
- To cut, scratch, or tear (someone or something) with a sharp object; to lacerate, to slash.
- To carve lines, marks, etc., into something.
- A slight wound; a scratch; also, a cut, a slit.
- Obsolete spelling of race (“rhizome of ginger”).
- A swinging fence in a watercourse to prevent cattle passing through.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
The verb is derived 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; (figurative) to expunge, obliterate; to alter”), from Anglo-Norman raser, rasere, rasser, Middle French raser, and 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). The noun is derived from the verb.