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.

Example Sentences

Trump is plainly fixing to lay waste to those safeguards.

From Los Angeles Times

Despite the ruling, Israel continues to lay waste to Gaza, where Hamas continues to hold hostages captured one year ago on Oct.

From Salon

But there’s only so much Israel can achieve from the air, even if, as seems possible, jets are about to lay waste to entire villages.

From BBC

It doesn’t feel that righteous, after all, to barrel into an undiscovered place and lay waste to its noble, magical creatures or even its largely sympathetic villains.

From New York Times

Tactical nuclear weapons, as the term implies, are far smaller and less powerful than strategic nuclear armaments such as intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear payloads that could lay waste to large population centers.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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