Definition

1. Noun:

   • Goods or money obtained illegally: "Plunder" refers to valuable items, goods, or wealth that have been stolen, especially by force during war, raids, or through other violent or dishonest means.
   • The act of stealing such goods: It can also refer to the act of looting or pillaging itself.

2. Verb:

   • To steal goods, typically using force and in a time of chaos: The primary meaning involves taking property violently or dishonestly, especially from a place during a war, riot, or disaster.
   • To destroy and strip of possessions: This meaning emphasizes the violent and destructive nature of the theft, often leaving the source ruined.
   • To take (something) illegally or wrongfully: This can extend to non-physical things, like intellectual property, taken without right.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The pirates hid their plunder in a secret cave. (The valuable stolen goods were concealed.)
  • The museum displayed artifacts that were historical plunder from ancient conquests. (The items shown were taken by force in the past.)

• Verb:

  • Invading armies would often plunder the villages they captured. (The soldiers would steal valuables from the villages.)
  • The rioters began to plunder the electronics store. (The people involved in the riot started stealing goods from the store.)
  • He was accused of plundering ideas from his former colleagues. (He was charged with wrongfully taking intellectual concepts.)

Advanced Usage

• "To plunder and pillage": A common paired phrase emphasizing complete and destructive looting.

  • The historical accounts describe how the Vikings would plunder and pillage coastal towns.

• "War plunder" or "wartime plunder": Specifically refers to goods stolen during a war.

  • The treaty included clauses for the return of all wartime plunder.

Variants and Related Words

• Plunderer (n): A person who plunders; a looter or pillager.

  • The plunderers fled before the authorities arrived.

• Plundering (n/adj): The act of plundering, or describing something related to that act.

  • The plundering of the city lasted for days. (n)
  • The plundering army left nothing of value. (adj)

Synonyms

• Loot (v/n): To steal goods, especially during a riot or war; stolen goods.
• Pillage (v/n): To rob a place using violence, especially in war.
• Sack (v): To violently plunder and destroy a town or building.
• Ransack (v): To search a place thoroughly, causing disorder, often to steal things.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

(Note: "Plunder" is not commonly used with particles to form phrasal verbs. Its meaning is typically conveyed alone or with direct objects/prepositional phrases like "plunder from.") - To plunder from (someone/something): To steal goods or ideas from a specific source. - The bandits plundered gold from the caravan.

Related Idioms

• "To line one's pockets with plunder": To enrich oneself dishonestly with stolen wealth.
  • The corrupt official was found to have lined his pockets with plunder from public funds.

Noun

1. goods or money obtained illegally

Verb

1. destroy and strip of its possession
   • The soldiers raped the beautiful country
2. steal goods; take as spoils
   • During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners
3. plunder (a town) after capture
   • the barbarians sacked Rome
4. take illegally; of intellectual property
   • This writer plundered from famous authors