as in looting
Related Words
Relevance
as in pillaging
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
the escaped convict plundered the house in search of valuables
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 plundering
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
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
The colonists took up where Tippu Tip left off, plundering the forests for ivory and other resources.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
While plundering a dungeon lair and stealing artifacts from a museum both have heist elements to them, Skullduggery looks into the other intrigues of adventures in urban environments.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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
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
The colonists took up where Tippu Tip left off, plundering the forests for ivory and other resources.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
While plundering a dungeon lair and stealing artifacts from a museum both have heist elements to them, Skullduggery looks into the other intrigues of adventures in urban environments.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plundering
Noun
-
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
-
And, as bad as all that looting was, the wealth that remained in Congo constituted only a small percentage of what was being made on markets globally, and from the technology those minerals powered.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Wilcox has a prior criminal history that includes convictions in Nebraska for Hobbs Act robbery, use of a weapon during a violent crime, and the armed robbery of an armored car, as well as convictions for bank robbery in Iowa and various other financial offenses, according to court documents.—
Robert A. Cronkleton,
Kansas City Star,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Keith Brown, 58, was charged with first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree robbery and several other crimes, local Fox affiliate KTVI reported.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
In this instance, the protests were combined with citizen surveillance of marauding federal agents, primarily through the use of smartphone recordings.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Seattle defense, which nicknamed itself the Dark Side, lived in quarterback Drake Maye’s face, sacking him six times and harassing him into three turnovers.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has stressed that the agency is not invading or raiding classrooms.—
Arthur Jones II,
ABC News,
5 Feb. 2026
-
But is raiding your retirement for a home purchase a financially sound idea?—
Becca Stanek,
TheWeek,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
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 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
