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loot

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verb

as in to plunder
to search through with the intent of committing robbery the bandits looted the archaeological dig before riding off into the night

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun loot differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of loot are booty, plunder, prize, spoils, and spoil. While all these words mean "something taken from another by force or craft," loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe.

picked through the ruins for loot

When could booty be used to replace loot?

While in some cases nearly identical to loot, booty implies plunder to be shared among confederates.

thieves dividing up their booty

When might plunder be a better fit than loot?

In some situations, the words plunder and loot are roughly equivalent. However, plunder applies to what is taken not only in war but in robbery, banditry, grafting, or swindling.

a bootlegger's plunder

In what contexts can prize take the place of loot?

Although the words prize and loot have much in common, prize applies to spoils captured on the high seas or territorial waters of the enemy.

the wartime right of seizing prizes at sea

How do spoil and spoils relate to one another, in the sense of loot?

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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of loot
Noun
The actual Rite of the Nine is supposed to arrive with three modes, a teaching mode will tooltips and hints about mechanics, a normal mode and then contest mode for extra challenge and Adept shiny loot. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025 Tournament Notes All gameplay items included in Chapter 6 Season 2 are eligible for tournament play, though loot pool differentiations may be made in the coming weeks. Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
Police say just before midnight that 10 people had been arrested citywide, including seven for breaking curfew and two for looting. Steve Earley, Baltimore Sun, 10 Apr. 2025 Their testimonies—detailing missing relatives, murdered family members, homes looted then burned—should shake us to our core. Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for loot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loot
Noun
  • Such tactics included the extraordinary plunder and destruction of the Hundred Years’ War and the fire bombings of cities in World War II.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
  • And two, even for the plunder of a smash and grab, that seems a sloppy hiding place.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Since the recent downturn, I have been asked repeatedly about what to do, and whether to sell out and go to cash.
    Jill Schlesinger, Mercury News, 28 Apr. 2025
  • One afternoon, Coogler stopped by a Bank of America to make a sizable cash withdrawal from his account to cover some family expenses.
    Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The system favoured by the new Coach appears to have no space for the Brazil native, who has played just four minutes since Thiago Motta was sacked.
    Adam Digby, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • The vast majority are unceremoniously sacked after losing their grip.
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Looting has been happening for centuries, but today’s criminals have turned to advanced technologies—including sonar, drones and underwater metal detectors—to pluck treasure from shipwrecks and other ancient sites beneath the Mediterranean Sea, per the AP.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Beachcombers and seashell hunters will appreciate the opportunity to find little treasures washed ashore.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Youngkin in 2021 raised $2.2 million in contributions, but the millionaire investor bolstered his war chest with $5.5million of his own money, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
    Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Third, protecting the tax payers money and resources.
    Kate Marijolovic, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Uh uh, method dressing is forever, at least for Timothée Chalamet—until the next role-of-a-lifetime comes along, or the parcels of Bob Dylan ephemera pillaged from the online auction houses stop coming through the young actor’s door that is.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 16 Mar. 2025
  • For centuries, the East India Company, a commercial and military organization, pillaged the riches of India to fund the British Empire and the company’s own expansion.
    Michael Knights, Foreign Affairs, 11 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Customers, who had access to more than 20 crypto coins at the time, were either shunted to Blockchain.com or liquidated their holdings.
    Hugh Son, CNBC, 29 Apr. 2025
  • The coin imploded a month later, erasing billions of dollars in wealth.
    Eric Lipton, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • His home was raided on August 5, 2024, where FBI agents found no evidence of the drug itself but did seize electronic items and demanded Reister take a urine test.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Though Tut ruled for only a short time, this tomb was well concealed and, unlike most others, wasn’t raided.
    Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 25 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Loot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loot. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

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