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
Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
For instance, before the signing of the ceasefire agreement, there was lots of looting of humanitarian aid, and these looters were backed up.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2026
And though officials have warned the looting of the flood prevention program may have started under Marcos’ predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, the disparity between the lifestyles of the elite and regular Filipinos has been a source of anger under the current president.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
According to food-security experts, extreme malnutrition in Gaza, already high, skyrocketed after GHF took over; according to Netanyahu, the foundation failed to prevent looting by Hamas.
—Hana Kiros, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025
The falls could become a place of learning, not of looting, as park manager Troy McCormick put it in 1994.
—Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 25 Oct. 2025
The State Department raised this popular African country’s advisory level amid protests, looting, and political instability.
—Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 24 Oct. 2025
These problems also occurred in the first weeks of the previous cease-fire, which lasted from January to March of this year; once the level of aid reached an equilibrium with the population’s needs, however, the looting abated.
—Jeremy Konyndyk, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2025
Character progression is primarily handled through a persistent skill tree, crafting, and looting.
—Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 4 Oct. 2025
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 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, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
That is looting, plain and simple, and clearly unlawful.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2026
Advisers for the company have sued James, accusing him of looting his company.
—Jonathan Randles, Bloomberg, 31 Dec. 2025
Despite the site being vulnerable to antiquities looting in the past, the artifacts miraculously survived 1,400 years.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 30 Dec. 2025
Another possibility is that his remains were moved later due to looting.
—CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025
An Ohio Dollar General boarded up its windows over fears of potential Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) looting next month.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
On the eve of the war, Jaujard, with the help of staff and volunteers, secretly arranged for the Mona Lisa and thousands of other masterpieces to be evacuated to the French countryside to protect them from looting.
—NPR, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
Everyone wanted to return home soon, to take refuge, amid fears of possible looting that failed to materialize.
—Verb
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.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for looting
Noun
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Detectives believe Hunter was killed during a robbery.—
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Also during the robbery, at least one of the intruders reportedly brandished a gun at a security guard while another member of the group held his arms and took him to the ground.—
Verb
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French buccaneers spent much of the seventeenth century hiding and plundering along the northwest coast of Hispaniola, eventually realizing more money could be made farming tobacco and sugar.—
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The colonists took up where Tippu Tip left off, plundering the forests for ivory and other resources.—
Noun
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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.—
Verb
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Security forces are raiding residential areas and going to people’s rooftops.—
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Zeus acting for his own pleasure underlies the evolutionary tales of small groups raiding foreign shores, carrying off women.—
Noun
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Keith Michael Lisa, 51, of Barnegat, was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal facility and depredation of federal property, Habba announced Tuesday.—
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Federal wildlife agents confirmed the two depredation events, which took place Friday and Saturday, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.—
Verb
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The Texans stifled the Steelers rushing attack and harassed Aaron Rodgers so extensively — sacking him four times, hitting him 12 times — that the future Hall of Fame quarterback scarcely had time to wait for plays to develop and repeatedly dumped the ball off for short gains.—
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Williams proved worthy of his four-year, $104 million contract Sunday, sacking Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert twice, including taking down the two-time Pro Bowler on fourth down with under two minutes left to seal the game.—
Noun
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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.—
Noun
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After more than a century of plunder and strife, under tyrants as diverse as King Leopold II of Belgium and Mobutu Sese Seko, the present-day DRC still occupies the dark heart of the continent in much of the world’s imagination.—
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The Venezuelan regime is broadly unpopular in Latin America; its socialism of plunder has sent millions of desperate people into Colombia and other states.—
Cite this Entry
“Looting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/looting. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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