as in robbery
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as in plundering
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
the bandits looted the archaeological dig before riding off into the night
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Recent Examples of looting
Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
Christophe Garnier, the leader of Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan said the organization had to evacuate its staff from Akobo on Saturday and learned of the subsequent looting of its hospital and the ransacking of its office.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
Saleh Abu Alamah A statue of the Nubian god Apademak stands alone in the courtyard of Sudan’s National Museum, one of the few survivors of systematic looting amid a conflict that has developed into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
—Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 8 Mar. 2026
There is no widespread panic or looting.
—Pegah Banihashemi, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
There is no widespread panic or looting.
—Pegah Banihashemi, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
Books permit these corporations—many of them whose foundations are tied to European colonialism and the history of expropriation and looting—to be authors in the telling of history and culture.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Today the world of Egyptology faces a silent crisis – not of looting, although that plays a part, but of disconnection.
—Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo, The Conversation, 13 Feb. 2026
There were fights and looting, and by the afternoon, a fire was set at a shop on West Madison Street, according to the documentary notes.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
In most academic histories of European imperialism written in this century, the Europeans are the barbarians, killing and raping and looting on an unprecedented scale.
—David A. Bell, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
Kathy Ireland, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model who later made the cover of Forbes as a branding mogul, has accused her former business managers of looting millions of dollars from her and leaving her deeply in debt.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026
In the Darfur region, three museums suffered complete destruction and looting during the first months of the conflict.
—Eissa Dafallah, NBC news, 8 Mar. 2026
These billionaires earned their wealth by producing massive value for users, not by looting.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 7 Mar. 2026
In August 2024, students stormed her official residence, smashing walls and looting its contents, forcing her to flee into neighboring India and exile.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
Dozens of people, mostly in Minnesota’s substantial Somali population, have been charged with looting the program by setting up companies that billed the state for supplying food that was never delivered.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
That is looting, plain and simple, and clearly unlawful.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2026
Noun
The Canadiens forfeit the game to the Detroit after a smoke bomb goes off in the Forum and crowds spill into the streets, setting fires, smashing windows and looting.
—Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
Christophe Garnier, the leader of Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan said the organization had to evacuate its staff from Akobo on Saturday and learned of the subsequent looting of its hospital and the ransacking of its office.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
Saleh Abu Alamah A statue of the Nubian god Apademak stands alone in the courtyard of Sudan’s National Museum, one of the few survivors of systematic looting amid a conflict that has developed into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
—Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 8 Mar. 2026
There is no widespread panic or looting.
—Pegah Banihashemi, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
There is no widespread panic or looting.
—Pegah Banihashemi, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
Books permit these corporations—many of them whose foundations are tied to European colonialism and the history of expropriation and looting—to be authors in the telling of history and culture.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Today the world of Egyptology faces a silent crisis – not of looting, although that plays a part, but of disconnection.
—Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo, The Conversation, 13 Feb. 2026
There were fights and looting, and by the afternoon, a fire was set at a shop on West Madison Street, according to the documentary notes.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
His case grew out of a broader Miami indictment filed in 2018 that charged eight associates with looting PDVSA, including senior executives and lawyers.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
In most academic histories of European imperialism written in this century, the Europeans are the barbarians, killing and raping and looting on an unprecedented scale.
—David A. Bell, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
Kathy Ireland, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model who later made the cover of Forbes as a branding mogul, has accused her former business managers of looting millions of dollars from her and leaving her deeply in debt.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026
In the Darfur region, three museums suffered complete destruction and looting during the first months of the conflict.
—Eissa Dafallah, NBC news, 8 Mar. 2026
These billionaires earned their wealth by producing massive value for users, not by looting.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 7 Mar. 2026
In August 2024, students stormed her official residence, smashing walls and looting its contents, forcing her to flee into neighboring India and exile.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
Dozens of people, mostly in Minnesota’s substantial Somali population, have been charged with looting the program by setting up companies that billed the state for supplying food that was never delivered.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
That is looting, plain and simple, and clearly unlawful.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for looting
Noun
-
Nastasa has been arrested 38 times in New York City, with charges including robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, grand larceny, threat by phone and criminal contempt.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The play, like the movie, is loosely based on a robbery that took place in 1972, on a boiling-hot August day, when an eccentric, deep-in-debt Vietnam veteran named John Wojtowicz entered a Chase bank in Brooklyn with a gun and two accomplices, hoping for a quick score.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
So, the Board of Supervisors, through the County Executive Officer, has pirated the Treasurer’s office and is now plundering it.—
John Moorlach,
Oc Register,
2 Mar. 2026
-
If there really was a class of unaccountable, libertine global élites plundering the world, then wasn’t Trump obviously a member?—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Amid the pillaging of homes, Roman magistrates were likely sent to the city to prevent an anarchic type of existence, based on ancient literary sources the authors referenced in the study.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
14 Aug. 2025
-
In fact, researchers know that pirates – basically just thieves on the water – targeted these river boats, because Egyptian pharaohs left records grumbling about pirates and their widespread pillaging.—
Brandon Prins,
The Conversation,
14 July 2025
Verb
-
There’s also talk of US forces raiding nuclear sites deep inside Iran to retrieve worrisome nuclear material, amid heightened fears that it could be used by an angry and desperate Iranian regime to manufacture nuclear weapons.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Noem sent Bovino and his Border Patrol agents into Los Angeles last June, and viral social-media clips of agents raiding Home Depot parking lots soon followed.—
Nick Miroff,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In those cases, the GFP says mountain lions were lethally removed due to livestock depredation, attacks on pets, or concerns and threats to public safety.—
Angela George,
Sioux Falls Argus Leader,
20 Mar. 2026
-
In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The confrontation went viral in December 2024, as cameras captured Gastineau confronting Favre in 2023 over Michael Strahan sacking the Green Bay Packers legend to break Gastineau's single-season sack record.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 2026
-
So Green can go back to sad-sacking and triple-singling starting Saturday against the Thunder, and certainly Monday against the Jazz.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Article continues below Unfortunately, a passing asteroid deposits a killer alien robot in their midst, and the soldiers must fend for themselves as this marauding mech stalks them with guns and lasers blazing.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
10 Mar. 2026
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Rutter, the club’s record £40m buy from Leeds United, was an instant hit last season with insatiable work rate and marauding runs until an ankle injury ruled him out from March for the rest of the campaign.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Critics contend the industry plunders distressed companies, leading to downsizing and cost-cutting that hurts local communities, though other research has pushed back on that reputation.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The militia had first interrogated the Delaware and Mohican about the location of their material possessions before killing them to ensure a successful plunder of pewter, tea sets, furs, and clothing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Looting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/looting. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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