freebooter
Americannoun
noun
-
a person, such as a pirate, living from plunder
-
informal a person, esp an itinerant, who seeks pleasure, wealth, etc, without responsibility
Etymology
Origin of freebooter
1560–70; Anglicization of Dutch vrijbuiter, equivalent to vrij free + buit booty 1 + -er -er 1
Explanation
A freebooter is a looter or raider. Freebooters are pirates. Originally, freebooters were pirates: roaming scoundrels who sailed the seas in search of spoils or plunder. In other words, freebooters robbed other ships. The term is now also used for people who steal in other settings. Freebooters, in any case, are robbers. The booty may be free for them, but they came by it through theft.
Vocabulary lists containing freebooter
"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Oedipus at Colonus
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Killers of the Flower Moon
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
What the freebooter gains is attention, whether in the form of likes, shares, or new followers for its Facebook page.
From Slate • Jul. 8, 2015
In one remarkable coup, a freebooter calling himself Bozo NYC posted instructions on a computer bulletin board for pirating Sirius Software's Phantoms Five two weeks before the game appeared in stores.
From Time Magazine Archive
The man who dramatized this issue was not a businessman, but a three-star general, Brehon B. Somervell, as tough a freebooter as Kaiser or Trippe or Tom Girdler.
From Time Magazine Archive
In 1847 a Portuguese freebooter and slave trader named Allen Vince sued him for a $200 debt, got a judgment against the land.
From Time Magazine Archive
The prosecutor Roy St. Lewis called Hale “the ruthless freebooter of death.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions 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.
