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pillage

[ pil-ij ]
/ ˈpɪl ɪdʒ /
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See synonyms for: pillage / pillager on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), pil·laged, pil·lag·ing.
to strip ruthlessly of money or goods by open violence, as in war; plunder: The barbarians pillaged every conquered city.
to take as booty.
verb (used without object), pil·laged, pil·lag·ing.
to rob with open violence; take booty: Soldiers roamed the countryside, pillaging and killing.
noun
the act of plundering, especially in war.
booty or spoil.
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Origin of pillage

1350–1400; Middle English pilage (see pill3, -age), modeled on Middle French pillage (derivative of piller to pillage, originally, to abuse, mistreat, tear, of uncertain origin)

OTHER WORDS FROM pillage

pil·lag·er, nounun·pil·laged, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pillage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pillage

pillage
/ (ˈpɪlɪdʒ) /

verb
to rob (a town, village, etc) of (booty or spoils), esp during a war
noun
the act of pillaging
something obtained by pillaging; booty

Derived forms of pillage

pillager, noun

Word Origin for pillage

C14: via Old French from piller to despoil, probably from peille rag, from Latin pīleus felt cap
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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