loot

\ 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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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 These may seem like nitpicks for a game whose core shoot-and-loot loop is just as fun and compelling as ever. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Borderlands 3 is a lot more Borderlands, in ways both good and bad," 17 Sep. 2019 The announcement came during an FTC panel on loot boxes taking place in Washington, DC, today. — Kyle Orland, WIRED, "Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo Team Up to Demystify Loot Boxes," 8 Aug. 2019 Twitch Prime is included with an Amazon Prime subscription, which gives gamers perks such as in-game loot, free games, and a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch. — Marc Saltzman, USA TODAY, "Amazon Prime Day 2019: Here's the best deals for video gamers," 13 July 2019 Mini-tables, for instance, were fashioned to look like the boxes of supplies — loot, in game parlance — that drop throughout battles. — Todd Martens, latimes.com, "‘Fortnite’ built a mini theme park complete with scented characters at the Forum," 16 June 2019 This time around we've loot boxes, PewDiePie, and an old gem coming back around for a second time. — Wired, "Loot Boxes Should Be Regulated as Gambling, Parliament Says," 13 Sep. 2019 And as far as Parliament is concerned, loot boxes should be banned outright in any games targeted to minors. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "UK Parliament: Ban all loot boxes until evidence proves they’re safe for kids," 12 Sep. 2019 But the loot included the mother's $18,000 wedding ring, along with numerous pieces of jewelry, watches and the son's xBox, 20 games, three new controllers and two Bose speakers, those listed at a total value of $1,880. — Thomas Jewell, cleveland.com, "Cops use relay team, Taser on fleeing suspect: Orange Police Blotter," 22 Aug. 2019 The interface for comparing weapons is also a confusing mess, especially in shops, where seeing how new options compare to your current loot should be a data-visualization priority. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Borderlands 3 is a lot more Borderlands, in ways both good and bad," 17 Sep. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The Maya site was extensively looted in the early 1960s by laborers from logging camps in the nearby Mexican town of Tenosique, Stuart said. — Los Angeles Times, "Column: A looted Maya sculpture sparks a storm over its planned sale at auction," 11 Sep. 2019 The Met declined to discuss the status of the talks with India or to characterize whether the museum now believes that some of the items were looted. — Tom Mashberg, New York Times, "The Met Reviews Items It Received From a Dealer, Now a Looting Suspect," 18 Aug. 2019 After being looted by the Vandals during the fifth century, the city began to sink into ruin. — Rubén Montoya, National Geographic, "The Sahara buried this ancient Roman city—preserving it for centuries," 30 July 2019 The release of the report Friday to Gambia’s president comes days after an investigative group, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, released a report saying that Jammeh had looted Gambia of $1 billion through fear and privilege. — Abdoulie John, The Seattle Times, "Inquiry into Gambia’s ex-president submits findings report," 29 Mar. 2019 Several days later, Boko Haram returned, looting a hospital of its medicine and setting fire to government buildings and military tents. — Dionne Searcey, New York Times, "Boko Haram Is Back. With Better Drones.," 13 Sep. 2019 The 185 mph winds and rapid flooding have destroyed houses, drowned people and animals and, in the aftermath, left residents looting stores in desperation. — Tara Law, Time, "Bodies Crushed By Debris, Looting and Limited Sanitation: Survivors Describe Dorian’s Aftermath on Great Abaco Island," 7 Sep. 2019 In one example, members posted Google Earth screenshots of archaeological sites and offered pointers on how best to loot them. — Tim Fernholz, Quartz, "Terrorists are trafficking looted antiquities with impunity on Facebook," 3 July 2019 Out came more items from the Treasury—gold chalices, silver ewers, liturgical books—gifted to the church after its earlier contents were looted in 1789 during the French Revolution. — Kristin Romey, National Geographic, "Why history says Notre Dame will rise again," 16 Apr. 2019

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.