To completely destroy or tear down a building or structure, leaving nothing standing.
From Old French 'raser' meaning 'to scrape or shave,' from Latin 'radere.' The sense evolved from 'scraping away' to 'demolishing completely.'
The word 'raze' shares its root with 'razor'—both involve scraping or shaving things away—and it's often confused with 'raise,' but razing something means destroying it while raising means lifting it up!
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