Dictionary entry
lay waste to
/lei weist tuː/
verb
糟蹋，彻底毁坏
to destroy or ruin something completely
糟蹋
In use
The fire laid waste to acres of forest.
The invading army is laying waste to the countryside.
If you keep lying to your friends, you will lay waste to their trust.
lay waste to + noun phrase
用于表示彻底破坏或毁灭。
The storm laid waste to the entire village.
风暴糟蹋了整个村庄。
be laid waste to
被动形式，强调遭受破坏。
The entire region was laid waste to by the invaders.
整个地区被侵略者糟蹋了。
Verb forms
base lay waste to · third person lays waste to · -ing laying waste to · past laid waste to · past participle laid waste to
动词lay是不规则变化，过去式和过去分词为laid。
Common mistakes
The tornado laid waste the town.The tornado laid waste to the town.
“lay waste to” 是固定短语，不可省略介词“to”，表示“糟蹋，毁坏”。
Yesterday, the storm lay waste to the village.Yesterday, the storm laid waste to the village.
该短语的过去式是“laid waste to”，不是“lay waste to”，因为“lay”的过去式是“laid”。
Connections
Dictionary facts from ECDICT.