as in looting
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as in pillaging
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
the escaped convict plundered the house in search of valuables
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plundering
Jake Kanter, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2026
It was revealed during that trial that Low's plundering of the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund exceeded $4 billion.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Nov. 2025
Aron Solomon on how the Meta AI copyright decision made libraries sitting ducks for AI plundering.
—Literary Hub, 27 June 2025
John Moorlach, Oc Register, 2 Mar. 2026
If there really was a class of unaccountable, libertine global élites plundering the world, then wasn’t Trump obviously a member?
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
Most Americans don’t want our nation to be an imperial aggressor threatening, conquering and plundering weaker nations.
—Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2026
An increasing number of bears had previously been observed spending more time on land during the summer, plundering birds’ nests in west Svalbard, and data had shown more adult females in east Svalbard spending more time in areas with bird colonies.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
Bainbridge wasn’t shy about plundering her personal life for material.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Trump is not keeping that a secret but is being quite open about plundering it all.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Jan. 2026
The most forward-looking strategy is to protect Greenland’s ice sheet rather than plundering a remote Arctic island while ramping up fossil fuel production and accelerating climate change around the world.
—Paul Bierman, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
French buccaneers spent much of the seventeenth century hiding and plundering along the northwest coast of Hispaniola, eventually realizing more money could be made farming tobacco and sugar.
—Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
Noun
ByteDance’s statement follows the Chinese tech giant receiving cease and desist letters from Disney and Paramount, calling for an immediate halt to IP plundering.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2026
It was revealed during that trial that Low's plundering of the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund exceeded $4 billion.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Nov. 2025
Aron Solomon on how the Meta AI copyright decision made libraries sitting ducks for AI plundering.
—Literary Hub, 27 June 2025
Verb
So, the Board of Supervisors, through the County Executive Officer, has pirated the Treasurer’s office and is now plundering it.
—John Moorlach, Oc Register, 2 Mar. 2026
If there really was a class of unaccountable, libertine global élites plundering the world, then wasn’t Trump obviously a member?
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
Most Americans don’t want our nation to be an imperial aggressor threatening, conquering and plundering weaker nations.
—Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2026
An increasing number of bears had previously been observed spending more time on land during the summer, plundering birds’ nests in west Svalbard, and data had shown more adult females in east Svalbard spending more time in areas with bird colonies.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
Bainbridge wasn’t shy about plundering her personal life for material.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Trump is not keeping that a secret but is being quite open about plundering it all.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Jan. 2026
The most forward-looking strategy is to protect Greenland’s ice sheet rather than plundering a remote Arctic island while ramping up fossil fuel production and accelerating climate change around the world.
—Paul Bierman, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
French buccaneers spent much of the seventeenth century hiding and plundering along the northwest coast of Hispaniola, eventually realizing more money could be made farming tobacco and sugar.
—Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plundering
Noun
-
Books permit these corporations—many of them whose foundations are tied to European colonialism and the history of expropriation and looting—to be authors in the telling of history and culture.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
-
There were fights and looting, and by the afternoon, a fire was set at a shop on West Madison Street, according to the documentary notes.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Certainly, its portrait of a futuristic society dominated by raping, pillaging youth gangs speaking a bizarre Russian-English hybrid slang struck a few different nerves — as did its tale of one teenage sociopath’s questionable reprogramming back into society after a stint in prison.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
-
More than a dozen others immediately flooded the shattered entrance, pillaging the place — breaking display cases and grabbing thousands of dollars in jewelry.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Johnson, who is currently on parole for robbery until 2027, has an extensive criminal record that includes a whopping 131 arrests since he was first busted for a Bronx assault in 1995, cops said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
4 Mar. 2026
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In 2001, Jeremy Puckett was charged with murder and robbery in the 1998 homicide of Anthony Galati, who was found dead along White Rock Road in eastern Sacramento County.—
Theresa Clift,
Sacbee.com,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Ozzy Lusth is marauding through the jungle, Sandra Diaz-Twine is lunging out of a shelter, and Johnny Fairplay’s real grandmother fake dies.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
-
But their deployment, marauding the streets of American communities, operating with military posture and lethal force, supersedes that mission and strikes at the heart of constitutional governance.—
Larry Pino,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Getty Images Tottenham Hotspur are searching for their eighth manager/head coach (interim and permanent) since 2019 after sacking Thomas Frank on Wednesday amid a run of two wins in 17 Premier League games.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
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Seattle swarmed quarterback Drake Maye all game, sacking him six times and forcing three turnovers, leaving New England scoreless through the first three quarters.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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After more than a century of plunder and strife, under tyrants as diverse as King Leopold II of Belgium and Mobutu Sese Seko, the present-day DRC still occupies the dark heart of the continent in much of the world’s imagination.—
Holden Frith,
TheWeek,
9 Jan. 2026
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The Venezuelan regime is broadly unpopular in Latin America; its socialism of plunder has sent millions of desperate people into Colombia and other states.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The emerging city also became home to Sobaipuri people, an O'odham band who fled Apache raiding in their San Pedro Valley home.—
Debra Utacia Krol,
AZCentral.com,
27 Feb. 2026
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The former prince is still under investigation, and with police raiding his homes and offices, there’s still a lot that could come out.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
28 Jan. 2026
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Wolf depredation in Cochise County last summer resulted in the relocation of a pack from southern Arizona to captivity in New Mexico.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plundering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plundering. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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