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Glite Dictionary
to level to the ground

to level to the ground

1 6.0
To completely destroy a building so nothing remains above ground
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : reducir a escombros
  • After the demolition crew finished their work, the once-grand hotel was entirely leveled to the ground.

Examples

  • This baby was the victim of an air strike, a bombing that killed her entire family and leveled her modest home to the ground.

    Blog text (33)

  • Some one thousand inhabitants were ordered to leave their homes within two hours, and the houses, 135 in number, were leveled to the ground by an engineering unit of the Israeli army.

    Academic text (1994)

  • "More than 100 buildings have been destroyed, some leveled to the ground," said opposition activist Moaz al-Shami.

    Blog text (28)

  • The hurricane leveled the old warehouse to the ground, leaving no trace of it behind.

  • The earthquake leveled the entire block of buildings to the ground, causing widespread devastation.

Synonyms

to tear down
vsto level to the ground
123 3.7

To destroy a building or other structure completely

focuses on flattening everything so nothing remains standing
to level
vsto level to the ground
81 3.7

To make land or a building flat with the ground

is the phrase form stressing complete destruction leaving nothing standing
to dismantle
vsto level to the ground
63 4.6

Knock down a building or other large structure completely

is about total destruction rather than careful disassembly
to knock down
vsto level to the ground
57 3.2

Make a building or wall fall down suddenly

describes planned complete destruction without implying sudden force
to demolish
vsto level to the ground
54 3.7

Completely destroy a building or large structure

is more specific about leaving no parts still standing
to take down
vsto level to the ground
40 3.4

To destroy a building so it is level with the ground

emphasizes result of complete destruction rather than careful removal
to raze
vsto level to the ground
17 7.1

To completely destroy a building or area so nothing is left

has identical meaning but is a multiword phrase rather than a single word
to lay waste to
vsto level to the ground
12 7.9

To destroy a place and leave it ruined

means physical flattening leaving nothing standing rather than general ruin
to pull down
vsto level to the ground
7 3.8

To demolish a building so it is flat on the ground

focuses on full flattening rather than partial damage
to rase
vsto level to the ground
  • Archaic
9.9

To completely tear down a building or town so nothing is left

has identical meaning but uses an alternative spelling form

Antonyms

to build
∞ 1.0

To make something by joining parts or materials

to restore
219 3.5

Return something like a painting or building to its original working condition

How Destroyed

to level to the ground
1 6.0
to demolish
54 3.7
to wreck
225 2.9
to damage
885 1.4

Surface Forms

level to the ground infinitive
leveled to the ground past
leveled to the ground past participle
leveling to the ground present participle
levels to the ground third person singular

Morphology

level + to + the + ground

The meaning 'to completely destroy or flatten so nothing remains above ground' is directly and compositionally derived from 'level' (to make flat/raze) combined with 'ground' (the earth surface); the phrase 'to the ground' simply expresses the extent of leveling. This construction follows a transparent, cross-linguistic pattern for expressing complete flattening, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Level to the ground comes from the image of knocking a building down until it is as flat as the ground, with nothing left standing. The word level here means to make flat, so the phrase means 'destroy completely'.