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.

OTHER WORDS FOR pillage

1 rob, sack, spoil, despoil, rape.

4 rapine, depredation, spoliation.

5 plunder.

See synonyms for pillage on Thesaurus.com

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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

The charge that did him in was minor compared with the money he pillaged, but it nonetheless sunk him.
Could Blankfein Face Prison?|Nomi Prins|August 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
He was long engaged in sanguinary war with the Turks and the French, who pillaged and destroyed his frontier towns.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Their inhabitants shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes: their houses shall be pillaged, and their wives shall be ravished.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
A commonwealth, oppressed and pillaged by such men as Opimius and Verres, was free, because it had no king.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay

The first were large bands of discharged mercenary soldiers who pillaged the country.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
He protected the people from stragglers and deserters, who pillaged friend and foe alike.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various

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

pillage

OTHER WORDS FOR pillage

Origin of pillage

OTHER WORDS FROM pillage

Words related to pillage

How to use pillage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pillage

Derived forms of pillage

Word Origin for pillage