ransack
[ ran-sak ]
verb (used with object)
to search thoroughly or vigorously through (a house, receptacle, etc.): They ransacked the house for the missing letter.
to search through for plunder; pillage: The enemy ransacked the entire town.
Origin of ransack
1First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English ransaken, from Old Norse rannsaka “to search, examine (for evidence of crime),” equivalent to rann “house” + saka, variant of sœkja “to search;” see seek)
Other words from ransack
- ran·sack·er, noun
- un·ran·sacked, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ransack in a sentence
From this ferocious ransacker of entrails we expect nothing of the kind.
The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles | Jean Henri Fabre
British Dictionary definitions for ransack
ransack
/ (ˈrænsæk) /
verb(tr)
to search through every part of (a house, box, etc); examine thoroughly
to plunder; pillage
Origin of ransack
1C13: from Old Norse rann house + saka to search, seek
Derived forms of ransack
- ransacker, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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