looted

verb

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 looted Its main office in Caracas was looted by regime supporters while hundreds of party activists were jailed or fled the country. — John Otis, NPR, 16 July 2026 Gran Grif operates in the country’s heartland, where dozens of houses were looted and burned and during a predawn assault in March in the town of Jean-Denis in the Lower Artibonite region. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 13 July 2026 His collection was soon looted by the Nazis, with Hermann Göring taking several of them. — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 13 July 2026 According to the General Authority for Antiquities and Museums in Yemen, 28 Yemeni artifacts held in London have been looted from their country of origin. — News Desk, Artforum, 7 July 2026 Nearly all of Cambodia's 4,000 temples have been looted. — Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 28 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for looted
  1. plundered
  2. pillaged
  3. sacked
  4. raided
  5. despoiled
  6. ransacked
Verb
  • The Stuttgart striker plundered two second-half goals, including a stoppage-time winner, to earn his side a place in the last 32.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 20 June 2026
  • Which were left to be plundered and destroyed?
    — Amer Matar, The Dial, 26 May 2026
Definition of plundered
Verb
  • But Nolan also throws a meditative new wrinkle into the story, as Odysseus comes to grips with his role in the Trojan War, leading the charge as his men raped, murdered and pillaged in his name.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 18 July 2026
  • For decades, tomb raiders have pillaged sites across the country, selling them on the black market.
    — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 19 June 2026
Definition of pillaged
Verb
  • Luis Enrique had been sacked after crashing out in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup.
    — Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 18 July 2026
  • But Nix has only been sacked 46 times in his career, compared to Herbert’s 95 and Mahomes’ 70 over the same stretch.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 17 July 2026
Definition of sacked
Verb
  • Pride events are held today in San Diego to honor the Stonewall uprising of 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City and patrons fought back in a dayslong confrontation.
    — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2026
  • Bottoms was outspoken after the FBI raided a Fulton County election hub earlier this year in an area part of the greater Atlanta metro area.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 17 July 2026
Definition of raided
Verb
  • One looks to the story of the Haitian World Cup team, appearing in the tournament for the first time in fifty years, which has gathered expatriate players from the Haitian diaspora to play for that beautiful and utterly despoiled country, where many of them have never lived.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
  • In the 21st century, oil extraction has become a serious threat to Ecuadoran Amazonia, with large swaths of forest, often located in Indigenous territories, despoiled by the release of wastewater from the wells.
    — Stanley Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
Definition of despoiled
Verb
  • Royal forces ransacked every ship that arrived at Alexandria, searching for scrolls.
    — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Some people climbed a lifeguard tower, while others ran through traffic and ransacked stalls where artisans sold their goods, police said at the time.
    — Nathaniel Percy, Oc Register, 7 July 2026
Definition of ransacked

Browse Nearby Words

loot
looted
looter
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Cite this Entry

“Looted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/looted. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on looted

Nglish: Translation of looted for Spanish Speakers

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