loot

noun

\ ˈlüt

Definition of loot

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : goods usually of considerable value taken in war : spoils The soldiers helped themselves to any loot that they could find.

2 : something held to resemble goods of value seized in war: such as

a : something appropriated illegally often by force or violence the thieves' loot

b : illicit gains by public officials

c : money would not … spend all that loot on her— Langston Hughes

3 : the action of looting general loot of church land— Hilaire Belloc

loot

verb

looted; looting; loots

Definition of loot (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to plunder or sack in war

b : to rob especially on a large scale and usually by violence or corruption

2 : to seize and carry away by force especially in war

intransitive verb

: to engage in robbing or plundering especially in war

Other Words from loot Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about loot

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Synonyms for loot

Synonyms: Noun

Synonyms: Verb

Choose the Right Synonym for loot

Noun

spoil, plunder, booty, prize, loot mean something taken from another by force or craft. spoil, more commonly spoils, applies to what belongs by right or custom to the victor in war or political contest. the spoils of political victory plunder applies to what is taken not only in war but in robbery, banditry, grafting, or swindling. a bootlegger's plunder booty implies plunder to be shared among confederates. thieves dividing up their booty prize applies to spoils captured on the high seas or territorial waters of the enemy. the wartime right of seizing prizes at sea loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe. picked through the ruins for loot

Examples of loot in a Sentence

Noun After raiding the town, the soldiers helped themselves to any loot that they could find. The thieves got a lot of loot in the robbery. He made a lot of loot selling cars. Verb The soldiers were looting every house that they came to. Soldiers swept through the territory, looting, burning, and killing.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Volunteers have seen visitors leave trash, loot fossils and remnants of Native American settlements, and scribble graffiti over ancient rock art. — Washington Post, "Tourists and looters descend on Bears Ears as Biden mulls protections," 8 Apr. 2021 Legacy, the new old store, sells current merchandise, such as Harry Potter loot, Marvel stuff and Minions gear. — Dewayne Bevil, orlandosentinel.com, "Universal CityWalk: Legacy Store spotlights old times, new decor," 31 Mar. 2021 Gamers can also take advantage of free video games and in-game loot with Twitch Prime, while bibliophiles love Prime Reading, which gets you access to thousands of free books, magazines, comics, audiobooks, and more. — Tim Chan, Rolling Stone, "The Best Streaming Services Reviewed and Compared," 16 Mar. 2021 This week is a big one for high-end loot chasing in Destiny 2. — Paul Tassi, Forbes, "The Gap Between Destiny 2’s Trials And Nightfall Ordeal Weapons Is Wide," 20 Mar. 2021 Players can also take loot from wildlife and technology unharmed by the pulse and create their own weapons. — Brett Molina, USA TODAY, "Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 6 is here: Wild animals, Lara Croft, Neymar Jr. and everything coming," 16 Mar. 2021 Join us in the Twitch stream above and get ready to sing along and score some loot. — Angela Watercutter, Wired, "Watch Us Sing Sea Chanteys on Twitch With The Longest Johns," 8 Mar. 2021 Even the loot system from the old game is retained. — Washington Post, "‘Diablo II: Resurrected’ won’t reinvent the wheel when the circle was already perfect," 20 Feb. 2021 According to Juniper, around 5% of gamers (over 230 million players) will buy loot boxes in 2025. — Matt Gardner, Forbes, "The Gaming Industry’s Loot Box Problem Is Going To Get Worse," 11 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Earlier in the evening, news helicopter footage showed people appearing to break in and loot a Foot Locker store and another business in that area. — NBC News, "In Philadelphia, another night of protests after fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.," 28 Oct. 2020 Case-in-point: The story of Adamo Canto, a 37-year-old catering assistant at Buckingham Palace who is currently serving jail time for stealing from the Queen's royal residence and then selling the stole loot on eBay. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "A Member of the Queen's Staff Is in Jail for Stealing Items from Buckingham Palace and Selling Them on eBay," 10 Jan. 2021 Under Napoleon’s rule, the French occupied Venice and proceeded to loot it, damaging parts of the city including the Venetian Arsenal—and destroying many of the bocche di leone. — Kasia Dietz, Travel, "Need to complain? Here’s how Renaissance-era Venetians did it," 4 Jan. 2021 Two items that will be near the top of the priority list are high on DeSantis' agenda: increasing penalties on protesters who attack police or loot property, and protecting businesses from lawsuits related to the coronavirus pandemic. — Gray Rohrer, orlandosentinel.com, "Florida Legislature returns Tuesday for a ceremonial session as COVID-19 crisis grows," 13 Nov. 2020 Police in Douglasville, Georgia, are searching for suspects reportedly seen using a U-Haul to smash into a local sporting goods store to loot items. — Anthony Leonardi, Washington Examiner, "Video shows thieves ramming U-Haul into local Georgia sporting goods store," 12 Nov. 2020 Are the mayors really worried about the Knights of Columbus coming downtown to trash and loot if Trump doesn’t prevail? — John Kass, Star Tribune, "No matter what happens, America will not return to 'normalcy'," 4 Nov. 2020 According to a statement by the Philedelphia Police Department, people in the large crowd began to loot businesses near Castor and Aramingo Avenues in north Philadelphia just before 9 p.m. — Washington Post, "National Guard responds as protests over Walter Wallace killing engulf Philadelphia," 28 Oct. 2020 There are scary bosses with massive health point pools, dozens of traps and pitfalls, an overwhelming sense of urgency, and no ability to loot your way to a rock solid inventory. — Louryn Strampe, Wired, "In Hades, the Underworld Is Your Playground," 28 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'loot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.