loot

1 of 2

noun

1
: goods usually of considerable value taken in war : spoils
The soldiers helped themselves to any loot that they could find.
2
: something held to resemble goods of value seized in war: such as
a
: something appropriated illegally often by force or violence
the thieves' loot
b
: illicit gains by public officials
c
: money
would not … spend all that loot on herLangston Hughes
3
: the action of looting
general loot of church landHilaire Belloc

loot

2 of 2

verb

looted; looting; loots

transitive verb

1
a
: to plunder or sack in war
b
: to rob especially on a large scale and usually by violence or corruption
2
: to seize and carry away by force especially in war

intransitive verb

: to engage in robbing or plundering especially in war
looter noun
Choose the Right Synonym for loot

spoil, plunder, booty, prize, loot mean something taken from another by force or craft.

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

plunder applies to what is taken not only in war but in robbery, banditry, grafting, or swindling.

a bootlegger's plunder

booty implies plunder to be shared among confederates.

thieves dividing up their booty

prize applies to spoils captured on the high seas or territorial waters of the enemy.

the wartime right of seizing prizes at sea

loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe.

picked through the ruins for loot

Examples of loot in a Sentence

Noun After raiding the town, the soldiers helped themselves to any loot that they could find. The thieves got a lot of loot in the robbery. He made a lot of loot selling cars. Verb The soldiers were looting every house that they came to. Soldiers swept through the territory, looting, burning, and killing.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
The winning bidder gets an email prompt to pay for the item and then another to schedule a pickup time when workers will bring the loot to the customer’s vehicle. Cheryl V. Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Nov. 2024 The guild has existed since 2009, when a player named King Bruenor grew tired of the endgame loot grind Blizzard intended. Cameron Koch, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2024
Verb
Recent decades have seen the repatriation of Khmer artifacts from abroad, some of which were looted in the 1970s during the period of violence and instability under the communist Khmer Rouge regime, per the Associated Press. Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Nov. 2024 Since 2022, the detainees are believed to have looted millions of euros and run up a similar amount in property damage, from 2022 to 2024, Europol said. Sophie Tanno, CNN, 27 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for loot 

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Hindi & Urdu lūṭ; akin to Sanskrit luṇṭati he plunders

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1845, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of loot was circa 1788

Dictionary Entries Near loot

Cite this Entry

“Loot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loot. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

loot

1 of 2 noun
: something stolen or taken by force

loot

2 of 2 verb
looter noun

Legal Definition

loot

transitive verb
1
: to rob especially during or following a catastrophe (as war, riot, or natural disaster)
2
: to rob especially on a large scale and usually by violence or corruption

intransitive verb

: to engage in robbing especially after a catastrophe
looter noun

More from Merriam-Webster on loot

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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