Word.ws English Dictionary

rase

UK/ɹeɪz/

rase verb: to be extremely angry; to rage; specifically, of a dog or wolf: to snarl in rage. Also the alternative spelling of race.

Verb (1)

rase (third-person singular simple present rases, present participle rasing, simple past and past participle rased)

  1. (archaic, intransitive) To be extremely angry; to rage; specifically, of a dog or wolf: to snarl in rage.
    • [T]he ſtones did ſeem / Too roare and bellow hoarce: and doggs too howle and raze extréeme: […]1567, Ovid, “The Fourteenth Booke”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC, folio 179, recto
    • So up & down that critic rased / & back & foorth he foyned & trased / & monstrous strookes deliverd; […]a. 1896 (date written), Eugene Field, “The Tragedie of Elaine”, in The Clink of the Ice and Other Poems Worth Reading, Chicago, Ill.: M. A. Donohue & Co., published 1905, →OCLC, stanza 3, page 131

Verb (2)

rase (third-person singular simple present rases, present participle rasing, simple past and past participle rased)

  1. (transitive) To level or tear down (a building, a town, etc.) to the ground; to demolish.
    • The fortreſſe was raſed and beaten downe to the erthe⸝ whiche had coſt moche the makynge therof: […]1523 February 7 (Gregorian calendar), Johan Froyssart [i.e., Jean Froissart], “Howe the Frẽche Kyng Sent a Great Nauy to the See⸝ ⁊ howe Duyers Townes were Brent in Englande: ⁊ howe the Duke of...
    • Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom, in the day of Jeruſalem; who ſayd, raſe it, raſe it: euen to the foundation thereof.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalm 137:7, signature Hhh2, verso, column 2
  2. (figuratively, transitive) To completely remove (someone or something), especially from a place, a situation, etc.; also, to remove from existence; to destroy, to obliterate.
    • It is true, the Devil did not immediately raſe out the Notion of Religion and of a God from the Minds of Men, […]1726, [Daniel Defoe], “Of the Devil’s Second Kingdom, and How He Got Footing in the Renew’d World by His Victory over Noah and His Race”, in The Political History of the Devil, as well Ancient as...
  3. (also, figuratively, transitive) To erase (a record, text, etc.), originally by scraping; to rub out, to scratch out.
    • Suppleyng to Fame, I besought her grace, / And that it wolde please her, full tenderly I prayd, / Owt of her bokis Apollo to rase.1523, John Skelton, “A Ryght Delectable Tratyse vpon a Goodly Garlande or Chapelet of Laurell, […]”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […], volume I, London: Thomas Rodd...
    • [N]o malice of ſucceeding daies, / can raſe thoſe records of thy laſting praiſe.1595, G. W. I[unior], “[Dedicatory poem]”, in Edmunde Spenser [i.e., Edmund Spenser], Amoretti and Epithalamion. […], London: […] [Peter Short] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, signature [¶4], recto
  4. (regional, transitive, archaic except UK) To wound (someone or part of their body) superficially; to graze.
    • For vvas he not in the neareſt Neighbourhood to Death? And might not the Bullet, that perhaps raſed his Cheek, have as eaſily gone into his Head?1685 March 3 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar); first published 1692, Robert South, “A Sermon Preached at Westminster-Abbey, February 22. 168⁴⁄₅.”, in Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several...
  5. (obsolete, transitive) To alter (a document) by erasing parts of it.
    • [page 650] A raſing or cancelling of a record by the order of that court, in vvhoſe cuſtody the record is, is no felony in him that doth it, nor in the court that commands it, for the court hath a ſuperintendence, as vvell over the record as over the clerks. […] It muſt be ſuch an embezzelling or...a. 1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, “Concerning the New Felonies Enacted in the Times of H[enry] 4. H[enry] 5. H[enry] 6. E[dward] 4.”, in Sollom Emlyn, editor, Historia Placitorum Coronæ: The...
  6. (obsolete, transitive) To carve (a line, mark, etc.) into something; to incise, to inscribe; also, to carve lines, marks, etc., into (something); to engrave.
    • [Y]ou muſt mark the out-lines of your intended Hinge, […] either vvith Chalk, or elſe raſe upon the Plate vvith the corner of the Cold-Chiſſel, or any other hardned Steel that vvill ſcratch a bright ſtroke upon the Plate: […]1678 January 11 – February 11 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Moxon, “Numb[er] II. Applied to the Making of Hinges, Locks, Keys, Screws and Nuts Small and Great.”, in Mechanick Exercises, or The...
  7. (obsolete, transitive) To remove (something) by scraping; also, to cut or shave (something) off.
  8. (obsolete, transitive) To rub lightly along the surface of (something); brush against, to graze.
    • And novv [the Rhine] by this time augmented vvith ſnovv, melted and reſolved into vvater, and raſing as it goes the high bankes vvith their curving reaches, entreth into a round and vaſt lake (vvhich the Rhætians dvvelling thereby, call Brigantia) […]1609, Ammianus Marcellinus, “[The XV. Booke.] Chapter III. Warre against the Lentienses, a People of Alemaine. The Description of the Lake Brigantia. The Romane Armie Discomfited and Put to Flight...
    • Sometimes, his feet raſed the ſurface of the water; and, at others, the ſkylight almoſt flattened his noſe.1786, [William Beckford], translated by [Samuel Henley], An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: […] [Vathek], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 103
  9. (obsolete, transitive) To scrape (something) to remove things from its surface; also, to reduce (something) to small pieces by scraping; to grate.
    • And you are a ſoule, ſo vvhite, and ſo chaſte, / A table ſo ſmooth, and ſo nevvly ra'ſte, / As nothing cald foule, / Dare approach vvith a blot, / Or any leaſt ſpot; […]1621 August 13 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Ben Jonson, “The Masque of the Gypsies”, in Q. Horatius Flaccus: His Art of Poetry. […], London: […] J[ohn] Okes, for John Benson […]...
  10. (obsolete, transitive) To shave (someone or part of their body) with a razor, etc.
    • [A] ſharpe worde moued thée, when other whiles a ſworde will not, then a friendly checke killeth thée, when a raſor cannot raſe thée.1580, Iohn Lyly [i.e., John Lyly], “Euphues to Him, that was His Philautus”, in Euphues and His England. […], London: […] [Thomas East] for Gabriell Cawood, […], →OCLC, folio 82, verso
  11. (also, figuratively, obsolete, transitive) To cut, scratch, or tear (someone or something) with a sharp object; to lacerate, to slash.
    • Dravv forth thy ſvvord, thou mightie man at armes, / Intending but to raiſe my charmed ſkin: / And Ioue himſelfe vvill ſtretch his hand from heauen, / To vvard the blovv, and ſhield me ſafe from harme, […]c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
    • VVheels o'er the harden'd VVaters ſmoothly glide, / And raſe vvith vvhiten'd Tracks the ſlipp'ry Tide.[1716], [John] Gay, “Book II. Of Walking the Streets by Day.”, in Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London, London: […] Bernard Lintott, […], →OCLC, page 36
  12. (intransitive, obsolete) To carve lines, marks, etc., into something.
  13. (intransitive, obsolete) To graze or rub lightly along a surface.
    • Betwene theſe Ilandes and the continente, he entered into ſoo narowe ſtreyghtes, that he coulde ſcarſely turne backe the ſhippes: And theſe alſo ſo ſhalowe, that the keele of the ſhyps ſumtyme raſed on the ſandes.1555, Peter Martyr of Angleria [i.e., Peter Martyr d’Anghiera], “The Thyrde Booke of the Fyrst Decade, to Lodouike Cardinall of Aragonye and Neuie to the Kynge”, in Rycharde Eden [i.e., Richard...
  14. (intransitive, obsolete) To penetrate through something; to pierce.
    • [O]ne Robert Dutch of Ipſvvith, having been ſorely vvounded by a Bullet that raſed to his skull, and then mauled by the Indian Hatchets, left for dead by the Salvages,^([sic – meaning Savages]) and ſtript by them of all but his skin; […]1677, W[illiam] Hubbard, The Present State of New-England. Being a Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians in New England, […], London: […] Tho[mas] Parkhurst […], →OCLC, page 39

Noun (1)

rase (plural rases)

  1. (obsolete) An act of cutting, scraping, or scratching; also, an erasure.
    • Raſe a ſcrapyng[1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Substantyues”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by...
    • Perceaue vve not hovv they vvhoſe tenderneſſe ſhrinketh at the leaſt raſe of a needles point, do kiſſe the ſvvord that pearceth their ſoules quite through?a. 1601 (date written), Richard Hooker, A Remedie against Sorrow and Feare, Delivered in a Funerall Sermon, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Ioseph Barnes, and are to be sold by John Barnes […], published...

Noun (2)

rase (plural rases)

  1. (obsolete, rare) A measure in which the commodity assessed is made level with the top of the measuring vessel rather than heaped above it.
    • Toll ſhall be taken by the Raſe, and not by the Heap or Cantel. Ordinance for Bakers, Brevvers, &c. cap. 4. it ſeems to have been a meaſure of Corn, novv diſuſed1670, Thomas Blount, “Rase”, in Νομο-λεξικον [Nomo-lexikon]: A Law-dictionary. […], In the Savoy [London]: […] Tho[mas] Newcomb, for John Martin and Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, signature [Hhh2]...

Verb (3)

rase (third-person singular simple present rases, present participle rasing, simple past and past participle rased)

  1. (intransitive, obsolete, rare) Of a natural marking on the head of an animal (chiefly a horse): to extend down the head.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: RASE

RASE

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of Royal Agricultural Society of England.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Rase

Rase

  1. A minor river in Lincolnshire, England, a tributary of the River Ancholme; in full, the River Rase.

Also used as

rase is also the alternative spelling of race.

rase is also the alternative spelling of raze.

Examples of rase in a sentence

  • [A]fter they had deſtroyed Religion, they pulled dovvn Churches, (as being then of no Uſe) and raſed the nobleſt Structures in the Land, to ſell the Materials; […]1659, Samuel Butler, “Two Speeches Made in the Rump-Parliament, when It was Restor’d by the Officers of the Army in the Year 1659”, in...
  • Thou vvoundeſt the Head of the Houſe of the VVicked; / Thou raſedſt the Foundation even to the Rock; / Thou piercedſt thro' vvith thy Scepter the Head of the Villages.1755, William Green, “A New Version of the Third Chapter of Habakkuk”, in A New Translation of the Prayer of Habakkuk, the Prayer of Moses...
  • The painefull vvarrier famoſed for vvorth, / After a thouſand victories once foild, / Is from the booke of honour raſed quite, / And all the reſt forgot for vvhich he toild: […]1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 25”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by...
  • Our quick-returning Folly cancels all; / As the Tide ruſhing raſes vvhat is vvrit / In yielding Sands, and ſmooths the Letter'd Shore.1743, [Edward Young], “Night the Fifth. The Relapse. […]”, in The Complaint. Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality. Night the...

Forms of rase

third-person singular presentrases
present participlerasing
past participlerased
pastrased
second-person singular present (archaic)rasest

Origin of rase

From Late Middle English rasen, rasyn (“to rage; to enrage (?)”), probably from Middle Dutch râsen, râzen (“to be extremely angry, rage; to be mad, rave; to talk nonsense; of a dog: to be rabid”), from Old Dutch *rāson (modern Dutch razen), from Proto-West Germanic *rāsōn (“to rush”), Proto-Germanic *rēsōną (“to rush”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁s- (“to flow; to rush”). cognates * Swedish rasa (“rage”)

PIE word *wréh₂ds A variant of race (“(obsolete) to pluck; to pull off; to snatch; to tear”), partly influenced by raze.

A variant of raze, from Middle English rasen: see further at raze.

Words formed from rase

Words that rhyme with rase

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about rase

What does rase mean?
Rase means to be extremely angry; to rage; specifically, of a dog or wolf: to snarl in rage.
How do you use rase in a sentence?
[A]fter they had deſtroyed Religion, they pulled dovvn Churches, (as being then of no Uſe) and raſed the nobleſt Structures in the Land, to ſell the Materials; […]
What part of speech is rase?
Rase can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce rase?
Rase is pronounced /ɹeɪz/ (UK).
What is the past tense of rase?
The past tense of rase is rased.

Words near rase in the dictionary

  1. Rascolnik
  2. Rascolniks
  3. Rascon
  4. Rascons
  5. Rascos
  6. rase
  7. rased
  8. rasedst
  9. raseglurant
  10. Raseiniai
  11. Raselgat

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rase (page history and authors); RASE (page history and authors); Rase (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-rase.wav.

Cite this entry: “rase.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rase. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.