as in plundering
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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as in robbery
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Recent Examples of looting
Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Local media reported isolated looting in Jakarta and damage to several transportation facilities in Jakarta on Friday, as well as demonstrations in the major cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta.
—CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
In June, a large-scale immigration operation targeting Los Angeles sparked protests, and there was violence and looting that later prompted Mayor Karen Bass to impose a curfew downtown.
—Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2025
As media coverage focused on looting and disorder, some confrontations between White and Black residents grew violent.
—Avalon Hester, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
And while many waited to be saved, the television cameras focused on the alleged looting and purported criminality of those simply trying to survive.
—Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2025
Napoleon’s looting gave early nineteenth-century Bern and its surrounding region a very high emigration rate.
—Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2025
In New Orleans, many felt the city had been abandoned and there was an air of desperation and looting.
—Marisa Peñaloza, NPR, 24 Aug. 2025
Theft and looting have not been an issue for the GHF - which continues to provide between one and two million meals per day through distribution sites secured by armed guards.
—Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Anniek Bao, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2025
Apex Legends, for instance, added Wildcard Mode, which drops looting to focus on faster combat.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Six were killed, dozens injured, and fires and looting caused damage.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
In the wake of the disaster, desperation led to looting and violent crimes, especially in the Superdome, the city’s multipurpose stadium and makeshift shelter.
—Curtis Bunn, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
The Nazi Party began looting art in the early 1930s from Jewish dealers who were forced to sell their valuables before fleeing to safety, and an official confiscation group called the Einsatzstab Reichsleiters Rosenberg (ERR) was created in 1940.
—Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Reports of lawlessness spread, but Honoré said that people confused looting with survival.
—Reena Advani, NPR, 25 Aug. 2025
In response to questions from Reuters, OCHA attributed the drop to limits on the quantities allowed in, active conflict and desperation that results in looting.
—Dawoud Abu Alkas, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
The heist crew then spent eight hours looting the store, which held $20 million worth of high-end jewelry.
—Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
That incident unleashed rioting and looting, with the homes of political leaders—including that of the finance minister—attacked and government offices burned.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Local media reported isolated looting in Jakarta and damage to several transportation facilities in Jakarta on Friday, as well as demonstrations in the major cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta.
—CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
In June, a large-scale immigration operation targeting Los Angeles sparked protests, and there was violence and looting that later prompted Mayor Karen Bass to impose a curfew downtown.
—Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2025
As media coverage focused on looting and disorder, some confrontations between White and Black residents grew violent.
—Avalon Hester, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
And while many waited to be saved, the television cameras focused on the alleged looting and purported criminality of those simply trying to survive.
—Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2025
Napoleon’s looting gave early nineteenth-century Bern and its surrounding region a very high emigration rate.
—Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2025
In New Orleans, many felt the city had been abandoned and there was an air of desperation and looting.
—Marisa Peñaloza, NPR, 24 Aug. 2025
Theft and looting have not been an issue for the GHF - which continues to provide between one and two million meals per day through distribution sites secured by armed guards.
—Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Noun
Protests intensified over the weekend, with rioters targeting the homes of lawmakers, ransacking and looting properties, and burning government buildings, according to media reports.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2025
Apex Legends, for instance, added Wildcard Mode, which drops looting to focus on faster combat.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Six were killed, dozens injured, and fires and looting caused damage.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
In the wake of the disaster, desperation led to looting and violent crimes, especially in the Superdome, the city’s multipurpose stadium and makeshift shelter.
—Curtis Bunn, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
The Nazi Party began looting art in the early 1930s from Jewish dealers who were forced to sell their valuables before fleeing to safety, and an official confiscation group called the Einsatzstab Reichsleiters Rosenberg (ERR) was created in 1940.
—Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Reports of lawlessness spread, but Honoré said that people confused looting with survival.
—Reena Advani, NPR, 25 Aug. 2025
In response to questions from Reuters, OCHA attributed the drop to limits on the quantities allowed in, active conflict and desperation that results in looting.
—Dawoud Abu Alkas, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
The heist crew then spent eight hours looting the store, which held $20 million worth of high-end jewelry.
—Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for looting
Verb
-
The store released a black-and-white video showing the thieves, which appears to be at least four suspects, plundering the business.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
One of Al Pacino’s finest performances of the 1970s — which, with the Godfather films and Serpico, is an absurd hot hand — is as the enigmatic, wild-eyed Sonny, a man who performs a desperate bank robbery with his partner (the late John Cazale, by turns heartbreakingly clueless and dopily funny).—
Christina Newland,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Told from the point of view of Ruffalo's lawman and the everyman (Tom Pelphry) who is surprisingly leading the robberies, the drama is seriously dark but also thoughtful and addictive.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Amid the pillaging of homes, Roman magistrates were likely sent to the city to prevent an anarchic type of existence, based on ancient literary sources the authors referenced in the study.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Simpson goes away to college, in Chicago, though not without her mother raiding her personal loan.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Almost half of America's youngest workers are raiding their retirement accounts just to get by, a new report has found.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The pack consists of up to 15 wolves of various ages roaming federal public land near an active cattle grazing allotment, where many of the depredation incidents took place, according the memo.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
24 Aug. 2025
-
Researchers looked at wolf abundance, the number killed in wolf hunting and by government removals, and livestock depredation in those states from 2005 to 2001, and found that the amount of livestock saved by killing a single wolf, roughly equaled 7% of a single cow.—
Nathan Rott,
NPR,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In the 2024-25 NBA season, Josh, who serves as the Denver Nuggets’ CEO and team president, was instrumental in sacking head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
-
The results also come on the heels of Qantas recently being hit with a record A$90 million penalty for illegally sacking 1,800 ground staff.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
First, the marauding, overlapping wing-backs drag markers away with decoy runs, opening up lanes for the attacking midfielders to exploit.—
Conor O'Neill,
New York Times,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Reparations, long proposed as the only measure proportionate to the scale of racial plunder, look increasingly like a political, economic, and legal non-starter.—
Idrees Kahloon,
New Yorker,
28 July 2025
-
Well, there’s this band of down-on-their-luck pirates, see, drawn to the scent of plunder and rousing dance numbers, coming together in another Citadel outdoor summer extravaganza full of music and fun for the whole family, according to the Citadel website.—
Gina Grillo,
Chicago Tribune,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Looting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/looting. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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