plunder

verb plun·der \ ˈplən-dər \

|Updated on: 3 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: plunder in a Sentence

Definition of plunder

plundered; plundering play \ˈplən-d(ə-)riŋ\

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

play \ˈplən-dər-ər\ noun

See plunder defined for English-language learners

See plunder defined for kids

Examples of plunder in a Sentence

The village was plundered by the invading army.
Thieves had long ago plundered the tomb.
The soldiers continued plundering for days.

Recent Examples of plunder from the Web

In the Bible, the book of Amos tells a similar tale of how the rich earn God’s wrath by plundering the poor for sport.

— david lay williams, Washington Post, "What Steven Pinker gets wrong about economic inequality — and the Enlightenment," 11 Mar. 2018
Not content with claiming 23 of 36 medals in Sochi four years ago, the heroes from Holland have gotten busy plundering sacks full of precious metal again.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Dutch speed skating team the most dominant team at these Winter Olympics," 17 Feb. 2018
Nine sacred artifacts that an explorer plundered from the tribe in the 1800s, including burial masks and a cradle, are finally returning home after being stored at a museum in Germany.

— elizabeth elkin and saeed ahmed, CNN, "Nine sacred artifacts stolen from a Native American tribe are finally returned over 100 years later," 11 June 2018
In See What Can Be Done, Moore frequently bristles at the arguments of biographers and readers who plunder a writer’s work for clues about their life, and vice versa.

— sarah marshall, The New Republic, "Why Lorrie Moore Writes," 5 June 2018
Forbes has listed the English pirate as the highest-earning pirate ever, plundering about $120 million worth of treasure in a little over a year.

— james rogers, Fox News, "Pirate mystery solved: Human bone reveals its secrets," 25 May 2018
Numerous artworks plundered by the Nazis have been properly restituted, but thousands more are unaccounted for—or are tied up in legal challenges.

— berthold steinhilber, Smithsonian, "The Lost Maidens of Berlin," 24 May 2018
Forbes has listed Bellamy as the highest-earning pirate ever, plundering about $120 million worth of treasure.

— CBS News, "Bone recovered from shipwreck not from notorious pirate after all," 24 May 2018
Mr Abadi, though, has failed to tackle corruption, increase transparency or reform the system by which ministries are divvied up (and plundered) by sect and ethnicity.

— The Economist, "Iraqi voters are fed up with the old guard," 10 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of plunder

German plündern

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First Known Use: 1632

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

plunder Synonyms

Synonyms

despoil, loot, maraud, pillage, ransack, sack;

comb, hunt, rake, rifle, rummage;

harry, raid;

ravish;

plunder

noun

Definition of plunder

1 : an act of plundering : pillaging

2 : something taken by force, theft, or fraud : loot

3 chiefly dialectal : personal or household effects

See plunder defined for English-language learners

Examples of plunder in a Sentence

the plunder of the village
All evidence suggested that the plunder of the tomb had happened long ago.

Recent Examples of plunder from the Web

Whether for leisure, business, exploration, colonization, exploitation or plunder, humans have traveled the world for centuries and recorded their impressions in books and artworks.

— susan dunne, courant.com, "Travel-Themed Exhibit 'Wish You Were Here' In New Haven," 23 June 2018
The powerful family has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, of human rights abuses and wanton plunder of national assets, during Marcos' reign, which finally ended in 1989.

— Fox News, "Sara Netanyahu preceded by avarice of other first wives," 22 June 2018
The passive nature of reading allows a space for distance from the realities of slavery, violence, rape, plunder, mass incarceration and the daily toll of tightrope walking.

— angela helm, The Root, "Kamilah Forbes’ Beautiful Struggle: Bringing Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me to the Stage," 10 Apr. 2018
In Maeve's understanding, the Ghost Nation showed up in the name of violence, to attack, pillage and plunder.

— refinery29.com, "Westworld Season 2, Episode 8: Forget What You Think You Know," 11 June 2018
That was not surprising, given that the whole operation was overseen by an administration that holds government in contempt, seeing it as a source of obstruction or an opportunity for plunder, rather than a collection of vital services.

— yvonne abraham, BostonGlobe.com, "After hurricane struck Puerto Rico, a second disaster was man-made," 2 June 2018
Given the massive scale of the plunder of black America, scholars have proposed reparations plans that are similarly wide-sweeping.

— anne branigin, The Root, "Cynthia Nixon Catches Heat for Calling Cannabis Licenses in Black Community a ‘Form of Reparations’," 8 May 2018
The spots were already present in 1922, when Howard Carter made his discovery in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, after the tomb had evaded plunder for more than 3,000 years thanks to a flood that buried the entrance with debris.

— jessica gelt, latimes.com, "King Tut gets a remodel: How conservators are trying to protect the tomb from tourists," 28 Mar. 2018
Yet there are common themes, such as vibrant atmospheres that give visitors a false sense of safety, and parking lots with little to no security where people leave vehicles for hours at a time with visible plunder for the taking.

— San Francisco Chronicle, "San Francisco’s auto burglary hot spots," 17 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of plunder

1643

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

plunder Synonyms

Synonyms

booty, loot, pillage, spoil, swag;

Related Words

prize;

catch, haul, take, treasure;

pilferage;

windfall;

Synonym Discussion of 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

PLUNDER Defined for English Language Learners

plunder

verb

Definition of plunder for English Language Learners

: to steal things from (a place, such as a city or town) especially by force

plunder

noun

Definition of plunder for English Language Learners

: the act of stealing things from a place especially by force : the act of plundering something
: things that are stolen or taken by force especially during a war