as in plundered
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
the bandits looted the archaeological dig before riding off into the night
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Recent Examples of looted
The item belongs to a rare collection of French crown jewels still held by the nation, after most were looted during the French Revolution beginning in 1789.
—
Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Law enforcement officers were injured, autonomous vehicles were set on fire and stores were looted.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 6 Feb. 2026
The facility was vandalized, looted and partially burned.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
Buildings burned to the ground; businesses were looted.
—Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026
For months, mausoleums in the graveyard, some more than a hundred years old, were being looted in the dead of night, police said.
—Gaya Gupta, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2026
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ two-year occupation of Khartoum has also seen 4,000 items looted from the Sudan National Museum, including mummies dating from 2,500 BC.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
But until then, there seems to be no space in our common national wealth for anything other than bombs, precarious tech ventures, and looted oil.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026
The last administration and their allies in Congress looted our treasury for trillions of dollars, driving up prices and everything at levels never seen before.
—ABC News, 21 Dec. 2025
Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Law enforcement officers were injured, autonomous vehicles were set on fire and stores were looted.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 6 Feb. 2026
The facility was vandalized, looted and partially burned.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
Buildings burned to the ground; businesses were looted.
—Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026
For months, mausoleums in the graveyard, some more than a hundred years old, were being looted in the dead of night, police said.
—Gaya Gupta, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2026
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ two-year occupation of Khartoum has also seen 4,000 items looted from the Sudan National Museum, including mummies dating from 2,500 BC.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
But until then, there seems to be no space in our common national wealth for anything other than bombs, precarious tech ventures, and looted oil.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026
The last administration and their allies in Congress looted our treasury for trillions of dollars, driving up prices and everything at levels never seen before.
—ABC News, 21 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for looted
Verb
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Monster bamboo, bougainvillea, and banana plants crashed in from the roadside; a tin roof sagged under the weight of a gaggle of marabou storks; baboons plundered trash cans at a highway intersection.—
Flora Stubbs,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
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The Scandinavian Vikings were a seafaring people who plundered both north and west Europe for centuries — a pretty tough group.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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North Texas — whose roster was pillaged in the portal and saw its top players leave for Oklahoma State alongside former head coach Eric Morris — have signed 42 transfers.—
Shawn McFarland,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Jan. 2026
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In a landscape of sequels and overly pillaged IP, the Stranger Things finale is finite and close-ended, the credits rolling once and for all.—
Yohana Desta,
Rolling Stone,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Last week’s Stick to Football episode, recorded shortly after his successor, Thomas Frank, was sacked by Spurs, was the fastest in its history to reach one million views.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
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In recent weeks, Baker McKenzie, a white-shoe law firm, axed 700 employees, Salesforce sacked hundreds of workers, and the auditing firm KPMG negotiated lower fees with its own auditor.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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It is inspired by a true 2009 event in which 12 members of a family in a village in the Kurdish region of Türkiye raided a wedding and killed 44 people, including women and children.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
15 Feb. 2026
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During the war, Israeli forces raided a number of hospitals, detaining hundreds of staffers.—
Sam Mednick,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
Verb
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The agents pushed through the door and ransacked the family’s belongings.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
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Authorities say she was forced to remain outside while the suspects ransacked the residence and a Mercedes Sprinter van parked on the property before fleeing the scene.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Looted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/looted. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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