ransack

verb

ran·sack ˈran-ˌsak

(ˌ)ran-ˈsak

ransacked; ransacking; ransacks

Synonyms of ransack next

transitive verb

: to look through thoroughly in often a rough way

… he and 15 staff members watched agents ransack the office.—

Christian Caryl et al.

In desperation, I ransacked my refrigerator for something else to whip up.—

Dana Bowen

(figurative) Most novelists ransack their lives for that first novel; it might be called involuntary reporting.—

Tom Wolfe

: to search through and steal from in a forceful and damaging way : plunder

Thieves ransacked the house.

Louis XVI was persuaded to risk a navy far from its own shores and to ransack the French arsenals for arms and ammunition …—

C. P. Reynolds

ransacker noun

Did you know?

Ransack carries the image of a house being roughly disarranged, as might happen when you are frantically searching for something. This is appropriate given the word’s origin. Ransack comes, via Middle English, from the Old Norse word rannsaka: the rann in rannsaka means “house”; the second half of rannsaka is what is known as an “ablaut” variant of sœkja, meaning “to seek, search out.” But our modern use of the word isn’t restricted to houses. You can ransack a drawer, a suitcase, or even (by hurriedly looking through it) the contents of a book. Ransack also inspired another English word related to disorder and unsteadiness. A now-obsolete form of ransack, ransackle, gave us our adjective ramshackle, meaning “rickety” or “carelessly or loosely constructed.”

Examples of ransack in a Sentence

Robbers ransacked the apartment looking for money. The room had been ransacked.

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.

After the gut-wrenching loss at Washington, the Bears now have to process being run over by a middle-of-the-road Cardinals team that is 5-4 and was ransacked by the Commanders earlier. —

Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2024 Instead, Mercy finds a dead man in the cabin, which has been ransacked. —

Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2024 About 50 juveniles ransack 7-Eleven in L.A., latest in string of robberies targeting the chain. —

Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2024 One of them occurred on Oct. 1 and involved $20 in cash being stolen from the church, while another on Oct. 6 resulted in a pastor's office being ransacked and a mason jar full of change being taken, according to the arrest report. —

Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ransack

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ransaken, from Old Norse rannsaka, from rann house + -saka (akin to Old English sēcan to seek) — more at seek

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of ransack was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ransack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ransack. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

ransack

verb

ran·sack ˈran-ˌsak

(ˈ)ran-ˈsak

: to search thoroughly

: to search through in order to rob

ransacker noun

Last Updated: 30 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

frugal

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

ransack

verb

Did you know?

Synonyms

Examples of ransack in a Sentence

Word History

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near ransack

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition