Synonyms of plunder

plunder 1 of 2

noun

1

as in loot

valuables stolen or taken by force

the thieves were promptly arrested when they tried to sell their plunder

Synonyms & Similar Words

• loot
• treasure
• pillage
• booty
• spoil
• prize
• swag
• haul
• catch
• windfall
• pilferage
• take

2

as in possession

chiefly dialect transportable items that one owns

with all of our plunder in the pickup, we headed for the state that bills itself as the Last Frontier

Synonyms & Similar Words

• possession
• belongings
• things
• stuff
• goods
• holdings
• gear
• effects
• chattels
• personal property
• personal effects
• moveables
• paraphernalia
• personalty
• treasures
• movables
• valuables
• duds
• furnishings
• property
• fixtures
• appointments
• collateral
• estate
• tangibles

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• real estate
• immovables

plunder

2 of 2

verb

ˈplən-dər 

as in to pillage

to search through with the intent of committing robbery

the escaped convict plundered the house in search of valuables

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pillage
• loot
• sack
• despoil
• raid
• ransack
• maraud
• steal (from)
• rake
• rifle
• comb
• break in
• burglarize
• hunt
• rummage
• rip off
• ravish
• harry

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun plunder differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of plunder are booty, loot, prize, spoils, and spoil. While all these words mean "something taken from another by force or craft," plunder applies to what is taken not only in war but in robbery, banditry, grafting, or swindling.

a bootlegger's plunder

When could booty be used to replace plunder?

The words booty and plunder are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, booty implies plunder to be shared among confederates.

thieves dividing up their booty

When would loot be a good substitute for plunder?

The synonyms loot and plunder are sometimes interchangeable, but loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe.

picked through the ruins for loot

When is prize a more appropriate choice than plunder?

Although the words prize and plunder 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 plunder?

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

Recent Examples of plunder

Noun

Swiss zoologists, botanists, engineers, priests and nuns from missionary societies, merchants and rentier businesspeople, warlords and mercenaries ventured out to participate in plunder and looting as adjuncts or sidekicks of the stronger world powers and financiers. —Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024

Major museums in the West devoted to the presentation and preservation of art objects have fitfully begun acknowledging their ties to histories of violence and plunder. —Leslie Camhi, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024

Verb

Loggers are plundering giant sequoias in Yosemite and poachers are decimating bison herds in Yellowstone. —Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 6 Feb. 2025

So what makes the Parthenon sculptures different from the bronzes, which were also originally plundered by British colonialists? —Ralph Leonard, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2025