despoil
verb
de·spoil
di-ˈspȯi(-ə)l 
despoiled; despoiling; despoils
: to strip of belongings, possessions, or value : pillage
despoiler
noun
Examples of despoil in a Sentence
The landscape has been despoiled by industrial development.
the burglars despoiled the art museum in search of treasures they thought they could sell to a fence
Recent Examples on the Web
The world is a stakeholder, not a bystander, and cannot remain silent as Brazil despoils this indispensable carbon sink, irreplaceable oxygen source, and precious repository of plant and animal life.
—
Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021
Meanwhile, human activity has imperiled biodiversity as people despoil lands and waters, introduce invasive species, and harvest natural resources unsustainably.
—Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021
But that hasn’t dissuaded some people in the Middle East and North Africa from doing to rivers what others all over the globe have done to theirs: despoil and deplete them.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
The monument, situated along the Arizona Strip, aims to protect the Grand Canyon from more uranium mining, which Native Americans said would despoil many sacred ancestral sites, leach into aquifers and threaten water supplies.
—Mark Eddington, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for despoil 
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.
Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021
Meanwhile, human activity has imperiled biodiversity as people despoil lands and waters, introduce invasive species, and harvest natural resources unsustainably.
—Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021
But that hasn’t dissuaded some people in the Middle East and North Africa from doing to rivers what others all over the globe have done to theirs: despoil and deplete them.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
The monument, situated along the Arizona Strip, aims to protect the Grand Canyon from more uranium mining, which Native Americans said would despoil many sacred ancestral sites, leach into aquifers and threaten water supplies.
—Mark Eddington, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for despoil
Dictionary Entries Near despoil
Cite this Entry
“Despoil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/despoil. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
despoil
verb
de·spoil
di-ˈspȯil
despoiler
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share