laying waste

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A 20-year-old chess prodigy is laying waste to the world’s top grandmasters.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

When they are not gathering by the tens of millions and laying waste to whole landscapes, these insects lead meek, solitary lives in arid zones.

From New York Times • Feb. 14, 2024

Ireland wasted no time laying waste to Scottish dreams.

From BBC • Oct. 8, 2023

The ban, combined with an existing prohibition on fireworks in unincorporated areas, is meant to discourage would-be pyromaniacs from accidentally laying waste to their neighbors’ houses or setting off wildfires that blacken hundreds of acres.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 3, 2023

Even as it besieged Boston, the virus also spread down the eastern seaboard, laying waste as far as Georgia.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann