ransack
verb (used with object)
to search thoroughly or vigorously through (a house, receptacle, etc.).
was ransacking
-
past progressiveof ransack.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
In Nyala, in the country’s southwest, one resident said that the R.S.F. was ransacking offices and markets.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2023
He was ransacking Bonita’s purse in search of her phone, tissues and candy and a tiny Bible spilling onto the floor.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 26, 2012
On the valley floor, Jack Speyer dashed from his second-floor bedroom in Glendale brandishing a baseball bat, certain that a burglar was ransacking the rooms below.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is now twelve years ago, at this very season, I was ransacking for you; you promising to come down, and never coming.
From Letters of Edward FitzGerald in two volumes, Vol. 1 by William Aldis Wright
But, with a vague idea that a cunning man might choose the most unlikely places for the concealment of compromising property, he was ransacking the kitchen from floor to ceiling.
From I Will Repay by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy
