plunder
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plunder
- /ˈplʌndə/ UK
- /ˈplʌndɚ/ US
- /ˈplɜn-/ US
Rhymes with -ʌndə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Recorded since 1632 during the Thirty Years War, native British use since the Cromwellian Civil War. Borrowed from German plündern (“to loot”), from Middle High German, from Middle Low German plunderen, from a noun originally meaning "household goods, bedding, clothing," of obscure ultimate origin. This is first attested in medieval records, and according to Gijsseling, is therefore attested too late to be considered a substrate word. Due to the lack of obvious cognates in other languages from which it would have been loaned, it could have developed as some slang word in Lower Saxony/the Low Countries.
Cognate with Dutch plunderen, West Frisian plonderje, Saterland Frisian plunnerje. Probably denominal from a word for “household goods, clothes, bedding”; compare Middle Dutch plunder, German Plunder (“stuff”), Dutch and West Frisian plunje (“clothes”).
The Philippine definitions originate with the Anti-Plunder Act, an act of Congress enacted in 1991.
verb plunders · plundering · plundered
- To pillage, take or destroy all the goods of, by force (as in war); to raid, sack. The mercenaries plundered the small town.
- To take (goods) by pillage. The mercenaries plundered all the goods they found.
- To take by force or wrongfully; to commit robbery or looting, to raid. “Now to plunder, mateys!” screamed a buccaneer, to cries of “Arrgh!” and “Aye!” all around.
- To make extensive (over)use of, as if by plundering; to use or use up wrongfully. The miners plundered the jungle for its diamonds till it became a muddy waste.
- To take unexpectedly. The Serb teed up Steve Davis, who crossed low for Graziano Pellè to plunder his fifth league goal of the campaign.
- To amass ill-gotten wealth (by public officials) through a combination or series of overt criminal acts.
noun
- An instance of plundering.
-
The loot attained by plundering.
The Hessian kept his choicest plunder in a sack that never left his person, for fear that his comrades would steal it.
Similar: boodle, booty, fang, gizzit, haul, hot property, loot, pelf, pickings, pillage, plunder, prigging
- Baggage; luggage. […] till a long-legged boy brought him out of his revery, by an offer to carry his “plunder,” in whatsoever direction he might desire to direct his steps.
- The commission of plunder (verb definition 6).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: despoil, pillage, reave, ransack, prize, foray, rape, violate, swag, sack, rifle, booty, strip, loot, raiding, looting
Translations
Every language
verb 1. to take all the goods of, by force (as in war) (transitive)
| Español | desvalijar, predar, prear |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 略奪する ryakudatsu suru |
| 中文 | 掠奪 /掠夺 lüèduó |
| Português | saquear, pilhar, bundar |
| Français | piller |
| Deutsch | ausplündern, plündern |
| Italiano | saccheggiare, depredare, predare, fare man bassa |
| Ελληνικά | λεηλατώ leïlató, λαφυραγωγώ lafyragogó, διαγουμίζω diagoumízo, κουρσεύω koursévo |
| Română | prăda, despuia |
| Русский | гра́бить grábitʹ |
| العربية | سَلَبَ salaba, نَهَبَ nahaba, حَرَبَ ḥaraba |
| עברית | בַּז baz |
verb 3. to commit robbery or looting (intransitive)
| Português | pilhar, saquear |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | plündern |
| Italiano | rapinare |
| Ελληνικά | πλιατσικολογώ pliatsikologó, λεηλατώ leïlató |
verb 4. to use or use up wrongfully
| Deutsch | ausbeuten, ausplündern |
|---|---|
| Italiano | saccheggiare |
| Ελληνικά | καταληστεύω katalistévo |
noun instance of plundering
| 한국어 | 약탈 yaktal |
|---|---|
| Português | saque, pilhagem |
| Français | pillage |
| Deutsch | Plünderung |
| Italiano | saccheggio, sacco |
| Ελληνικά | πλιάτσικο pliátsiko, λεηλασία leïlasía, λαφυραγώγηση lafyragógisi, κούρσεμα koúrsema, διαγούμισμα diagoúmisma |
| Русский | грабёж grabjóž, разграбле́ние razgrablénije |
Talk about this word "plunder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/plunder. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. plunder. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/plunder "plunder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/plunder.Cite this
@misc{plunder_2026,
title = {plunder},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/plunder},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
