depredate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depredate
1620–30; < Late Latin dēpraedātus plundered (past participle of depraedārī ), equivalent to Latin dē- de- + praed ( ārī ) to plunder ( see prey) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To depredate something is to plunder, pillage, rob, or lay waste to it. Pirates often depredated seized merchant vessels by stripping them of everything valuable, including chests of gold and valuable commodities. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Caribbean pirates didn't just depredate ships; they frequently raided land targets, attacking coastal villages and port towns. They would ransack churches and town halls for silver chalices, gold crosses, and tax chests. They looted business warehouses and markets, and even private homes. The verb depredate is also used to describe armies or raiders destroying a countryside or town. In ecology and agriculture, it describes how some animals consume or damage crops, livestock, or ecosystems.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Cats depredate and scavenge a large fraction of the species present across the range available in the landscapes they forage in," the authors write.
From Salon ● Dec. 12, 2023
Chickens depredate warily about the doorsteps, and intent pigs emerge for plunder from the alleys.
From Last Words by Stephen Crane
Bush asked if this man Blackman, who took out a commission in order to depredate and plunder, is still living?
From Uncle Daniel's Story Of "Tom" Anderson And Twenty Great Battles by John McElroy
They then go out and depredate the country.
From Modern Eloquence: Vol II, After-Dinner Speeches E-O by Thomas B. (Thomas Brackett) Reed
Not a thief or a robber can live or depredate among their tenants.
From A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & II by William Sleeman
It is a thing worthy of complaint when public charities, designed for the relief of the poor, are embezzled and depredated by the rich, and turned to the support of luxury and pride.
From From London to Land's End and Two Letters from the "Journey through England by a Gentleman" by Henry Morley
Bull, now of Philadelphia, writes respecting the position of several boxes of minerals left in the Lyceum of Natural History, of New York, in 1822, which have, been sadly depredated on.
From Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
Just before the harvest season, it became palpable that this field, then waving with wheat, was depredated upon to a wasteful extent by some unknown subjects of the animal kingdom.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 21, July, 1859 by Various
Depredā′tion, act of plundering: state of being depredated; Dep′redator.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
"Herein we describe, to our knowledge, the first recorded instance of a Burmese python actively defending a nest and the first record of a bobcat depredating a python nest."
From Fox News ● Mar. 17, 2022
Trapping and relocating bears has been a first option when the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has dealt with depredating bears.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 18, 2020
“They are depredating our deer population, killing livestock and attacking family pets,” they said in the memo.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2017
But wildlife advocates and animal rights groups contend the response to depredating wolves has become too heavy-handed.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2010
"I merely asked the question," I answered, closing my work box, and drawing it nearer, so that her depredating fingers could not reach it.
From Ernest Linwood or, The Inner Life of the Author by Caroline Lee Hentz
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
