ransack

verb ran·sack \ ˈran-ˌsak , (ˌ)ran-ˈsak \

|Updated on: 25 Jul 2018

Examples: ransack in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of ransack

ransacked; ransacking; ransacks

transitive verb

1 : to look through thoroughly in often a rough way

… he and 15 staff members watched agents ransack the office.
—Christian Caryl et al.

In desperation, I ransacked my refrigerator for something else to whip up.
—Dana Bowen

(figurative) Most novelists ransack their lives for that first novel; it might be called involuntary reporting.
—Tom Wolfe

2 : to search through and steal from in a forceful and damaging way : plunder

Thieves ransacked the house.

Louis XVI was persuaded to risk a navy far from its own shores and to ransack the French arsenals for arms and ammunition …
—C. P. Reynolds

—

ransacker

noun

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Examples of ransack in a Sentence

Robbers ransacked the apartment looking for money.
The room had been ransacked.

Recent Examples of ransack from the Web

The deadbolt to the home was damaged severely and the master bedroom was ransacked, police said.

— elizabeth owens-schiele, chicagotribune.com, "Buffalo Grove police: Man faces charges after traffic stop turns up cocaine, marijuana," 13 July 2018
When crowds ransacked the presidential palace after Hussein was overthrown, the car’s original owner presented his ownership documents to occupying American forces and got his car back.

— mark phelan, Detroit Free Press, "Saddam Hussein’s 1958 Bentley stars at Concours d'Elegance of America," 11 July 2018
Not only have the raccoons ransacked the house, but the home’s landlord doesn’t seem to care about the problem the Shamleys are having.

— yesha callahan, The Root, "Raccoon to Memphis, Tenn., Family: ‘Look at Me, I’m the Renter Now’," 30 May 2018
The home was ransacked and jewelry and cash were taken.

— mike johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee police seek public's help in identifying suspects in Sherman Park home invasion," 9 May 2018
The two intruders began a 22-minute rampage, terrorizing the three partiers, ransacking the house, searching Butch’s pockets and boots.

— lisa arthur, www.sun-sentinel.com, "The Executions," 3 Apr. 2018
The Argentinians, the 2014 runner-ups, were ransacked by Croatia on Thursday and are on the brink of booking flights back to Buenos Aires.

— andrew beaton, WSJ, "Brazil Lives Up to Its Reputation, Tops Costa Rica at World Cup," 22 June 2018
An election center run by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was also ransacked last week.

— NBC News, "Turkey's election campaigns are marred by violence," 19 June 2018
Crucial facilities, including Tuwaitha, were ransacked by looters in 2003.

— peter schwartzstein, Smithsonian, "How Saddam and ISIS Killed Iraqi Science," 30 May 2018

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

Did You Know?

Ransack carries the image of a house being torn out of order, as might happen when you are frantically searching for something. This is appropriate given the word's origin. Ransack derives via Middle English from Old Norse "rannsaka"; the "rann" in rannsaka means "house." The second half of "rannsaka" is related to an Old English word, secan, meaning "to seek." But our modern use of the word isn't restricted to houses. You can ransack a drawer, a suitcase, or even the contents of a book (for information). A now-obsolete frequentative form of "ransack," "ransackle," gave us our adjective "ramshackle."