plunder
Americanverb (used with object)
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plunders,
present (3rd person singular)
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plundered,
past participle, past
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plundering
present participle
verb (used without object)
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plunders,
present (3rd person singular)
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plundered,
past participle, past
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plundering
present participle
verb
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to steal (valuables, goods, sacred items, etc) from (a town, church, etc) by force, esp in time of war; loot
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(tr) to rob or steal (choice or desirable things) from (a place)
to plunder an orchard
noun
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anything taken by plundering or theft; booty
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the act of plundering; pillage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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plunderernoun
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plunderableadjective
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plunderousadjective
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unplunderedadjective
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unplunderousadjective
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plunderinglyadverb
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unplunderouslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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plundersimple
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plunderssimple
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have plunderedperfect
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has plunderedperfect
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am plunderingprogressive
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are plunderingprogressive
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is plunderingprogressive
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have been plunderingperfect progressive
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has been plunderingperfect progressive
Past
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plunderedsimple
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had plunderedperfect
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was plunderingprogressive
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were plunderingprogressive
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had been plunderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of plunder
First recorded in 1620–30, plunder is from the Dutch word plunderen
Explanation
Plunder can mean stolen goods or money obtained illegally, or the act of taking those things. A burglar might plunder a jewelry store and then sneak off with her plunder. Plunder is an old Middle High German word that originally meant "household goods and clothes": in other words, your stuff. During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), English speakers acquired this word while fighting in the land that is today Germany, but with the added meaning of taking the plunder as, well, plunder. As both a noun and verb, a synonym for plunder is loot.
Vocabulary lists containing plunder
Words Every Pirate Should Know
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The Odyssey
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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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:
Navy engaged with the British yet again, it also once more exposed American ships traveling Mediterranean to plunder from Barbary pirates, later resulting in the Second Barbary War.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
The Vikings have landed in North America for the second time in just over a millennium and, this time, they’re here to plunder the beer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The movie toggles between the two narratives, slyly exploring the ways creators plunder the lives of those they know in the quest for a good story.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Machete in hand, Romee resident Jean-Paul Bitilaongi rejoiced at their successful bid to keep the forest out of reach of the "rich people" he says are trying to plunder it.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
“Must I remind my lord, this trouble is not of my doing? And not all of us have had die opportunity to refill our coffers with the plunder of Maidenpool and Dragonstone.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
A blend of Islamic and Hindu beliefs has long served as a conservation code, with supernatural guardians believed to punish anyone who plunders the forest for greed.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
The seven-minute odyssey plunders rock’s then-forbidden city with burbling basslines and guitar wizardry so breathtaking nobody bothered to revoke Greenwood’s daytime-radio visa.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2020
To the extent that “Mortal Engines” resembles anything, it’s other movies, which it plunders with a landfill-diving zeal that suits the surviving populace.
From New York Times ● Dec. 13, 2018
The narrator thinks about the way he plunders the lives of those around him.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 13, 2018
She plunders sighs from humankind, She pilfers tears I would not weep, She robs me of my peace of mind, And she purloins my sleep.
From Poems by Arthur Macy
It is a far cry from 2023-24 when he plundered 19 Premier League goals, and 27 in all competitions.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
Brand believes the painting had been plundered by Hermann Goering, one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, when Goudstikker fled for Britain in 1940.
From BBC ● May 11, 2026
Kyiv plundered warehouses for veteran Soviet antiaircraft guns and fitted heavy machine guns, some almost a century old, with thermal imaging systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
Khawaja, a qualified pilot, has plundered 6,206 runs in Test cricket with 16 centuries, averaging 43.39.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
Miss Stuart was in exile, from plundered Scotland still declining, three thousand miles away.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Think of American shipping companies plundering British ships, which was common practice once upon a time.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
The example they set by monetizing Greek military talent would lure many others into the freebooting life and ultimately lead, seven decades later, to the enormous plundering raids of Alexander the Great.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
It’s all chintzy and campy, the plundering of low-hanging fruit.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Estrada was charged in 2014 with plundering millions of dollars meant for government development projects, but the court acquitted him a decade later.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
She snorted, and showed plainly that she thought the Gamgees capable of plundering the hole during the night.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
