pillage
verb (used with object)
to strip ruthlessly of money or goods by open violence, as in war; plunder.
had been pillaging
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past perfect progressiveof pillage.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
“He had been pillaging the company all along,” said Pignatello, who joined shareholders in a lawsuit against Trump that has since been settled.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 12, 2016
One day there came rumors to the town of Thebes that wild tribes of horsemen had been pillaging along the frontiers.
From Ancient Man The Beginning of Civilizations by Hendrik Willem Van Loon
In the midst of this high success he came upon the scattered contents of a bumble-bee's nest, which the Pixies had been pillaging.
From Old Farm Fairies: A Summer Campaign In Brownieland Against King Cobweaver's Pixies by Henry Christopher McCook
The Indians--Seminoles and Creeks--with many runaway negroes, had been pillaging the border of Georgia.
From Beacon Lights of History, Volume 12 American Leaders by John Lord
As they rode along they learned that the people were almost in a panic, fearing 188 Dunmore’s marauders, who had been pillaging and burning in the county below.
From Rodney, the Ranger With Daniel Morgan on Trail and Battlefield by John Goss
