plundered; plundering
ˈplən-d(ə-)riŋ 
1
2
: to make extensive use of as if by plundering : use or use up wrongfully
plunder the land
: to commit robbery or looting
1
: an act of plundering : pillaging
2
: something taken by force, theft, or fraud : loot
3
chiefly dialectal
: personal or household effects
Synonyms
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
Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 30 Aug. 2023
Both parties ravaged the Tarrytown residents, scorching their farms and plundering their fields.
—Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 21 July 2023
Industries continued to plunder Indiana’s waterways of mussels until 1991 when the state suspended all forms of harvesting.
—The Indianapolis Star, 5 Sep. 2023
Seething with anger, thousands take to the streets in a two-day siege, smashing storefront windows, plundering merchandise and setting buildings ablaze.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
But this one is all pleasure — and too brilliant to plunder.
—Anchorage Daily News, 24 June 2023
The Ducks under Mario Cristobal came to Southern California to plunder on the recruiting trail during the final years of Clay Helton at USC and succeeded again and again.
—J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023
The war, Prigozhin claimed, was designed by Russian officials and oligarchs who had plundered two separatist regions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, for years, but grew greedy and wanted to plunder all of Ukraine.
—Claire Parker, Washington Post, 24 June 2023
The Wagner Group began as a small clandestine force but has grown in recent years into a global war cartel run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, plundering gold and diamonds while advancing the Kremlin’s strategic interests and becoming the face of the Russian assault in Ukraine.
—Benoit Faucon, WSJ, 9 July 2023
Artem Grudinin, NBC News, 6 Apr. 2023
In the film’s 1944-set prologue, Indy (Harrison Ford) captures a train loaded with Nazi plunder, including the titular Dial of Destiny.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2023
These, too, were running out, owing to slaughter and plunder.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
Questions are also likely to arise about when U.N. partners detected the theft and what kind of third-party monitoring was in place to prevent such plunder.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 8 June 2023
Worn as a brooch by Queen Victoria, the Kohinoor, one of the largest diamonds in the world, was one of many plunders of British imperialism.
—Leila Sackur, NBC News, 6 May 2023
Marcos Jr is the son and namesake of former authoritarian leader Ferdinand Marcos Sr, whose21-year rule was marked by human rights abuses and plunder of the state coffers.
—Helen Regan and Yasmin Coles, CNN, 9 May 2022
Not surprisingly, economic growth slows to a halt in neo-feudal conditions like these, and politics becomes a matter of doling out a stagnant reserve of diminishing resources — resources supplemented only by colonial violence and the zero-sum plunder of the weak.
—Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 12 Aug. 2021
The most likely scenario would involve waves of immigrating anatomically modern humans taking over land and causing death by plunder and disease, as Europeans discovering the New World did.
—Scientific American, 1 June 2015
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Verb
By day, the birds fan out in search of food, sometimes plundering nearby cornfields that supply cattle feed to Willcox-area dairies.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 30 Aug. 2023
Both parties ravaged the Tarrytown residents, scorching their farms and plundering their fields.
—Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 21 July 2023
Industries continued to plunder Indiana’s waterways of mussels until 1991 when the state suspended all forms of harvesting.
—The Indianapolis Star, 5 Sep. 2023
Seething with anger, thousands take to the streets in a two-day siege, smashing storefront windows, plundering merchandise and setting buildings ablaze.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
But this one is all pleasure — and too brilliant to plunder.
—Anchorage Daily News, 24 June 2023
The Ducks under Mario Cristobal came to Southern California to plunder on the recruiting trail during the final years of Clay Helton at USC and succeeded again and again.
—J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023
The war, Prigozhin claimed, was designed by Russian officials and oligarchs who had plundered two separatist regions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, for years, but grew greedy and wanted to plunder all of Ukraine.
—Claire Parker, Washington Post, 24 June 2023
The Wagner Group began as a small clandestine force but has grown in recent years into a global war cartel run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, plundering gold and diamonds while advancing the Kremlin’s strategic interests and becoming the face of the Russian assault in Ukraine.
—Benoit Faucon, WSJ, 9 July 2023
Noun
Courtesy Kherson Regional Art Museum A growing body of evidence suggests Russian forces are systematically stealing art and cultural artifacts from Ukraine on a scale not seen in Europe since the Nazi plunder of World War II, according to researchers and experts documenting the damage.
—Artem Grudinin, NBC News, 6 Apr. 2023
In the film’s 1944-set prologue, Indy (Harrison Ford) captures a train loaded with Nazi plunder, including the titular Dial of Destiny.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2023
These, too, were running out, owing to slaughter and plunder.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
Questions are also likely to arise about when U.N. partners detected the theft and what kind of third-party monitoring was in place to prevent such plunder.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 8 June 2023
Worn as a brooch by Queen Victoria, the Kohinoor, one of the largest diamonds in the world, was one of many plunders of British imperialism.
—Leila Sackur, NBC News, 6 May 2023
Marcos Jr is the son and namesake of former authoritarian leader Ferdinand Marcos Sr, whose21-year rule was marked by human rights abuses and plunder of the state coffers.
—Helen Regan and Yasmin Coles, CNN, 9 May 2022
Not surprisingly, economic growth slows to a halt in neo-feudal conditions like these, and politics becomes a matter of doling out a stagnant reserve of diminishing resources — resources supplemented only by colonial violence and the zero-sum plunder of the weak.
—Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 12 Aug. 2021
The most likely scenario would involve waves of immigrating anatomically modern humans taking over land and causing death by plunder and disease, as Europeans discovering the New World did.
—Scientific American, 1 June 2015
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plunder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Articles Related to plunder
Dictionary Entries Near plunder
Cite this Entry
“Plunder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plunder. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on plunder
Nglish: Translation of plunder for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of plunder for Arabic Speakers
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