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loot

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verb

as in to plunder
to search through with the intent of committing robbery the bandits looted the archaeological dig before riding off into the night

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun loot differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of loot are booty, plunder, prize, spoils, and spoil. While all these words mean "something taken from another by force or craft," loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe.

picked through the ruins for loot

When could booty be used to replace loot?

While in some cases nearly identical to loot, booty implies plunder to be shared among confederates.

thieves dividing up their booty

When might plunder be a better fit than loot?

In some situations, the words plunder and loot are roughly equivalent. However, plunder applies to what is taken not only in war but in robbery, banditry, grafting, or swindling.

a bootlegger's plunder

In what contexts can prize take the place of loot?

Although the words prize and loot 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 loot?

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

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 loot
Noun
Cheating, hacking and opaque loot box mechanics often undermine player trust. Faizy Ahmed, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025 The loot included a Twilight poster signed by stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner; signed Darth Vader and Stormtrooper helmets; and several signed Captain America shields. Michael Loria, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
In November 2024, the Associated Press reported that prices in Gaza skyrocketed after nearly 100 trucks of food and humanitarian aid were looted by armed men. Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2025 Archaeologists noted that many of the tombs had been looted centuries or possibly thousands of years earlier, but a few items survived. Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for loot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loot
Noun
  • Such tactics included the extraordinary plunder and destruction of the Hundred Years’ War and the fire bombings of cities in World War II.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
  • And two, even for the plunder of a smash and grab, that seems a sloppy hiding place.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • If no one wins the jackpot, the cash prize will continue to tick up.
    Julia Gomez, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2025
  • One afternoon, Coogler stopped by a Bank of America to make a sizable cash withdrawal from his account to cover some family expenses.
    Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The system favoured by the new Coach appears to have no space for the Brazil native, who has played just four minutes since Thiago Motta was sacked.
    Adam Digby, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • The vast majority are unceremoniously sacked after losing their grip.
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The Vatican Museums encompass a centuries-old collection of art and artifacts, including treasures of Renaissance and Baroque painting and sculpture, as well as modern masterworks by Paul Gauguin, Salvador Dalí, and Pablo Picasso, among others.
    Tessa Solomon for ARTnews, Robb Report, 30 Apr. 2025
  • This burgeoning resale market has generated demand not only for watchmakers, but for the expert repairers needed to revive treasures of the past, said Johann Kunz-Fernandez, director of the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program (WOSTEP), in a phone call with CNN.
    Rosa Rahimi, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY.
    Medora Lee, USA Today, 3 May 2025
  • The agency does more than just give out money: FEMA deploys experts in disaster response and recovery and maintains stockpiles of emergency equipment.
    Simmone Shah, Time, 2 May 2025
Verb
  • On Sunday, the editorial staff of Télé Pluriel in the Delmas 19 neighborhood, said heavily armed gang members had broken through the station’s main barrier sometime during the night and set fire to its premises while also pillaging their offices.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Uh uh, method dressing is forever, at least for Timothée Chalamet—until the next role-of-a-lifetime comes along, or the parcels of Bob Dylan ephemera pillaged from the online auction houses stop coming through the young actor’s door that is.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 16 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The coin imploded a month later, erasing billions of dollars in wealth.
    Eric Lipton, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
  • But this was still just the flip of a coin, essentially.
    Ruthie Ackerman, Time, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Authorities outfitted two of the cubs with tracking collars after the bears started wandering into the town of Jackson to raid garbage cans, compost bins and bird feeders for food.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2025
  • Massachusetts Avenue eatery Millie’s was also reportedly raided Tuesday morning, with officers wielding a search warrant signed by an ICE agent — not a judge.
    Meredith Kile, People.com, 8 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Loot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loot. Accessed 12 May. 2025.

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