plunder

1 of 2

verb

plun·​der ˈplən-dər How to pronounce plunder (audio)
plundered; plundering ˈplən-d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce plunder (audio)

transitive verb

1
a
: to take the goods of by force (as in war) : pillage, sack
invaders plundered the town
b
: to take by force or wrongfully : steal, loot
plundered artifacts from the tomb
2
: to make extensive use of as if by plundering : use or use up wrongfully
plunder the land

intransitive verb

: to commit robbery or looting
plunderer noun

plunder

2 of 2

noun

1
: an act of plundering : pillaging
2
: something taken by force, theft, or fraud : loot
3
chiefly dialectal : personal or household effects
Choose the Right Synonym for plunder

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 plunder in a Sentence

Verb The village was plundered by the invading army. Thieves had long ago plundered the tomb. The soldiers continued plundering for days. Noun the plunder of the village All evidence suggested that the plunder of the tomb had happened long ago.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Verb
A week after Helene smashed into the Southeast, power outages, water shortages and impassable roads stymie recovery Tropical systems, of course, can plunder coastlines. Sharif Paget, CNN, 3 Oct. 2024 And neither Coppola nor Snyder deals with how ideologues have plundered the West. Armond White, National Review, 9 Oct. 2024
Noun
Major museums in the West devoted to the presentation and preservation of art objects have fitfully begun acknowledging their ties to histories of violence and plunder. Leslie Camhi, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024 But unlike the pirates of the sea, the plunder for the pirates of the web is said to be time, not money. Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for plunder 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

German plündern

First Known Use

Verb

1632, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1643, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of plunder was in 1632

Dictionary Entries Near plunder

Cite this Entry

“Plunder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plunder. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

plunder

1 of 2 verb
plun·​der ˈplən-dər How to pronounce plunder (audio)
plundered; plundering -d(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce plunder (audio)
: to rob especially openly and by force (as in a raid)
plunderer noun

plunder

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act of plundering
2
: something taken by force or theft : loot

More from Merriam-Webster on plunder

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!