1
as in to plunder
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
it was clear that the thieves who had ransacked the museum were professionals—they bypassed most of the exhibits and went straight for the vaults
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
I've ransacked the whole house for that book you lent me and it's nowhere to be found
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of ransack
Advertisement Sources with knowledge of the recent incident, who requested anonymity over concerns of potential retaliation, said men ransacked and torched the Zambada mausoleum located near Culiacán on Jan. 4.
—
Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
His claims about the 2020 election ultimately encouraged supporters to ransack the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s 2020 win.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025
Fighters broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.
—Melanie Lidman, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2025
Supporters then marched to the Capitol, with hundreds charged with assaulting, resisting, impeding or obstructing police during a civil disorder and others ransacking congressional offices and occupying the Senate chamber.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ransack
Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
His claims about the 2020 election ultimately encouraged supporters to ransack the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s 2020 win.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025
Fighters broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.
—Melanie Lidman, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2025
Supporters then marched to the Capitol, with hundreds charged with assaulting, resisting, impeding or obstructing police during a civil disorder and others ransacking congressional offices and occupying the Senate chamber.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ransack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ransack
Verb
-
In Musk’s telling, Altman illegally partnered with Microsoft to establish a web of illicit affiliates and plunder its nonprofit arm of assets and staff in violation of their deal.—
Winston Cho,
The Hollywood Reporter,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Loggers are plundering giant sequoias in Yosemite and poachers are decimating bison herds in Yellowstone.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside Online,
6 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
For example, Baca Systems shared that before AI agents, customers who called the company with service questions (typically about a hardware issue) would wait an average of five to seven minutes while a human agent searched for relevant cases and analyzed technical documents.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
-
In the decades since, a few teams of scientists have searched at even higher altitudes.—
Carl Zimmer,
Smithsonian Magazine,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
White mobs also used the rumors to justify hunting Black citizens in the area for days, murdering men, women, and children and pillaging and burning their property.—
Christmaelle Vernet & Kathy Roberts Forde / Made by History,
TIME,
28 Feb. 2025
-
After pillaging and gutting the U.S. government, the Western alliance and our relationship with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump is thinking of himself as a king and cogitating on a third term.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
In several respects, the survey found that Sacramento adults were less religious than Americans as a whole.—
Phillip Reese,
Sacramento Bee,
2 Mar. 2025
-
Around the world, the evidence for the value of social progress is conclusive: McKinsey’s global research found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to experience above-average profitability.—
Paul Klein,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The four-man pass rush generated 16 pressures and sacked Mahomes six times, the most in his career.—
Nate Taylor,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
-
The Philadelphia Eagles completely stymied the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense in Super Bowl LIX, sacking Patrick Mahomes and causing three turnovers on their way to a big win.—
Ryan Gaydos,
Fox News,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The announcement also acknowledged the items had been looted by British soldiers in 1897 from the Kingdom of Benin, sold, and eventually ended up in the Dutch State Collection.—
Karen K. Ho,
ARTnews.com,
21 Feb. 2025
-
An escaped convict teams up with his Italian buddy and an army deserter to plan a spectacular bank robbery, looting a U.S. military base for the necessary firepower.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
After it was flagged to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2016, her home was raided.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Shortly thereafter, federal agents raided the Department of Education’s (DOE) headquarters at Tweed Courthouse, searching for further evidence of corruption.—
Matt Gonzales,
New York Daily News,
23 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ransack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ransack. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share