loot

Definition

Synonym of booty, goods seized from an enemy by violence, particularly (historical) during the sacking of a town in war or (video games) after successful combat.

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi लूट (lūṭ, “booty”), either from Sanskrit लोप्त्र (loptra, “booty, stolen property”) or लुण्ट् (luṇṭ, “to rob, plunder”). The figurative meaning developed in American English in the 1920s, resulting in a generalized meaning by the 1950s.

Example Sentences

• "Loot, plunder, pillage."
• "He always found the talismanic gathering-word Loot (plunder), a sufficient bond of union in any part of India."
• "Why, the race [of camp followers] is suckled on loot, fed on theft, swaddled in plunder, and weaned on robbery."