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Glite Dictionary
💰 Stolen goods 🦹 To steal 🎮 Game rewards 📋 To copy illegally
to loot

to loot

10 6.1
To take someone else's ideas or work without permission
  • verb
  • /luːt/
translation icon : saquear
  • Their long-standing suspicions were confirmed: artifacts recently acquired by major museums had been looted from their soil.
  • loot bank accounts
  • loot the assets
  • loot the company

And that's why Ted has a sophistication for those who really want to understand how pensions get looted.

Examples

  • Laughing to herself, she wondered how long it would take them to figure out that she had looted their bank accounts.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Steven then looted Mr. Manning's entire $68,000 life savings by forging his father's signature on bank checks and IRA distribution forms.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Is it possible that there was and is no intention to loot?

    Blog text (18)

  • "So that you can come back to Mars and loot it of anything else you can lay your hands on," Jamie thought.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The sociopaths that run the government have no incentive to do anything but loot the system.

    Blog text (1)

  • Leaving the flanks exposed, Tonkre and his men proceeded to chase down their foes all the way to Aleppo, looting the countryside as they went.

  • The soldiers were ordered to prevent the crowd from looting local shops after the disaster.

  • During the riot, many people began to loot the electronics store, taking whatever they could carry.

  • It's illegal to loot art and historical artifacts from museums, as it deprives everyone of cultural heritage.

Synonyms

to steal
vsto loot
∞ 1.0

Take something that does not belong to you without permission

is focused on taking or using intellectual property or ideas specifically
to rip off
vsto loot
  • Informal
79 6.3

To steal something quickly without the owner knowing

concerns taking or using intellectual property rather than quick secret theft
to plunder
vsto loot
7 6.6

To take someone else's ideas or work and use them as your own without permission

focuses specifically on taking or using intellectual property or ideas without permission
to purloin
vsto loot
4 9.6

To steal something secretly or dishonestly

emphasizes taking or using intellectual property rather than secret action

Compounds

loot rail
  • Jargon
9.5

A system in a game that gives items fairly to each player

loot whore
  • Offensive
9.9

A player who tries to take all valuable items in a game and ignores teamwork

great loot
  • Jargon
6.7

A large amount of valuable items found or gained, often after an adventure

How Illegal

to steal
∞ 1.0
to loot
10 6.1
to pirate
12 4.4
to plagiarize
  • US
23 6.8
to appropriate
  • Offensive
19 9.0

Surface Forms

loot infinitive
looted past
looted past participle
looting present participle
loots third person singular

Etymology

The verb loot also comes from the Hindi lūt meaning 'to plunder', and people use it for taking ideas or work without permission. Saying someone 'looted' a song or joke helps you picture them taking another person's 'treasure' of ideas.