Lay waste to something expression
The expression can be rewritten as "lay something waste" and "lay something to waste".
If something "lays waste to something", it completely destroys and causes heavy damage to something.
In 1945, the U.S laid waste to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by dropping atomic bombs on these two cities.
Throughout our long periods of history, we can conclude that war not only doesn't bring any benefits to the citizens but it also lays waste to the land, the water, the air, and especially the human beings.
To put an end to something
1. Fall in a sequence
2. Be damaged, destroyed or defeated quickly and sequentially
If something "goes under the wrecking ball", it is destroyed or demolished.
To damage or try to damage something, typically refers to intangible things.
To destroy an argument, a rule, law, belief or plan; to make something ineffective
The verb “lay" should be conjugated according to its tense.
When the expression “lay waste” showed up in Middle English, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it meant “to devastate, ravage (land, buildings).”
The first example in the OED is from the Coverdale Bible of 1535: “For they haue deuoured Iacob, and layed waiste his dwellinge place.”
1. To punch a hole in one's ticket to show that they have paid for a ride
2. To do something that allows one to go further in a competition or to be promoted at work
1. Please, tell me if I forget to punch your ticket.
2. With a view to punching my ticket to the final, I did whatever it takes to win this round.