lay waste

== English == === Pronunciation === === Verb === lay waste (third-person singular simple present lays waste, present participle laying waste, simple past and past participle laid waste) (transitive) To completely destroy, especially of a geographical area or region. Synonyms: devastate, ravage; see also Thesaurus:destroy ==== Usage notes ==== Sometimes takes "to" instead of being simply transitive. Thus, "...they laid waste to Russia's great cities" would be an acceptable alternative to the citation above. ==== Translations ==== === Verb === lay waste simple past of lie waste