Adjacent Words

Plunder definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PLUN'DER, v.t.
1. To pillage; to spoil; to strip; to take the goods of an enemy by open force. Nebuchadnezzar plundered the temple of the Jews.
2. To take by pillage or open force. The enemy plundered all the goods they found. We say, he plundered the tent, or he plundered the goods of the tent. The first is the proper use of the word.
3. To rob, as a thief; to take from; to strip; as, the thief plundered the house; the robber plundered a man of his money and watch; pirates plunder ships and men.
PLUN'DER, n. That which is taken from an enemy by force; pillage; prey; spoil.
1. That which is taken by theft, robbery or fraud.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: goods or money obtained illegally [syn: loot, booty, pillage, plunder, prize, swag, dirty money] v
1: take illegally; of intellectual property; "This writer plundered from famous authors" [syn: loot, plunder]
2: plunder (a town) after capture; "the barbarians sacked Rome" [syn: sack, plunder]
3: steal goods; take as spoils; "During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners" [syn: plunder, despoil, loot, reave, strip, rifle, ransack, pillage, foray]
4: destroy and strip of its possession; "The soldiers raped the beautiful country" [syn: rape, spoil, despoil, violate, plunder]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (plundered; plundering) Etymology: German plündern Date: 1632 transitive verb 1. a. to take the goods of by force (as in war) ; pillage, sack <invaders plundered the town> b. to take by force or wrongfully ; steal, loot <plundered artifacts from the tomb> 2. to make extensive use of as if by plundering ; use or use up wrongfully <plunder the land> intransitive verb to commit robbery or looting • plunderer noun II. noun Date: 1643 1. an act of plundering ; pillaging 2. something taken by force, theft, or fraud ; loot 3. chiefly dialect personal or household effects Synonyms: see spoil

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. 1 rob (a place or person) forcibly of goods, e.g. as in war. 2 rob systematically. 3 (also absol.) steal or embezzle (goods). --n. 1 the violent or dishonest acquisition of property. 2 property acquired by plundering. 3 colloq. profit, gain. Derivatives: plunderer n. Etymology: LG plündern lit. 'rob of household goods' f. MHG plunder clothing etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plunder Plun"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plundered; p. pr. & vb. n. Plundering.] [G. pl["u]ndern to plunder, plunder frippery, baggage.] 1. To take the goods of by force, or without right; to pillage; to spoil; to sack; to strip; to rob; as, to plunder travelers. Nebuchadnezzar plunders the temple of God. --South. 2. To take by pillage; to appropriate forcibly; as, the enemy plundered all the goods they found. Syn: To pillage; despoil; sack; rifle; strip; rob.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plunder Plun"der, n. 1. The act of plundering or pillaging; robbery. See Syn. of Pillage. Inroads and plunders of the Saracens. --Sir T. North. 2. That which is taken by open force from an enemy; pillage; spoil; booty; also, that which is taken by theft or fraud. ``He shared in the plunder.'' --Cowper. 3. Personal property and effects; baggage or luggage. [Slang, Southwestern U.S.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(plunders, plundering, plundered) 1. If someone plunders a place or plunders things from a place, they steal things from it. (LITERARY) They plundered and burned the market town of Leominster... She faces charges of helping to plunder her country's treasury of billions of dollars... This has been done by plundering £4 billion from the Government reserves. = loot VERB: V n, V n of n, V n from n • Plunder is also a noun. ...a guerrilla group infamous for torture and plunder. 2. Plunder is property that is stolen. (LITERARY) The thieves are often armed and in some cases have killed for their plunder.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Pillage, spoil, despoil, rob, rifle, sack, ravage, fleece, strip, lay waste. II. n. 1. Robbery, rapine, booty, spoil, pillage, prey. 2. [Southern and Western U.S.] Baggage, luggage, goods, effects.

Moby Thesaurus

banditry, blackmail, boodle, booty, brigandage, brigandism, capture, depredate, depredation, desolate, despoil, despoiling, despoilment, despoliation, devastate, direption, fleece, forage, foraging, foray, freeboot, freebooting, graft, gut, haul, hot goods, knock off, knock over, lay waste, loot, looting, maraud, marauding, perks, perquisite, pickings, pillage, pillaging, pirate, plundering, pork barrel, prey on, prize, public till, public trough, raid, raiding, ransack, ransacking, rape, rapine, ravage, ravagement, ravaging, raven, ravish, ravishment, razzia, reive, reiving, relieve, rifle, rifling, rob, robbery, sack, sacking, seize, spoil, spoiling, spoils, spoils of office, spoliate, spoliation, squeeze, stealings, stick up, stolen goods, strip, swag, sweep, take, things, till, traps, tricks, vandalism, vandalize