lay waste

Idioms and Phrases

Ravage, ruin, as in The hurricane laid waste the entire seashore . Originally referring to the devastation caused by attackers, this term has come to be used more generally.

Related Words

• consume
• crush
• damage
• dismantle
• end
• eradicate
• gut
• impair
• kill
• maim
• ravage
• raze
• ruin
• sabotage
• shatter
• smash
• smash-up
• wipe out
• wreck