1
: goods usually of considerable value taken in war : spoils
The soldiers helped themselves to any loot that they could find.
2
: something held to resemble goods of value seized in war: such as
a
: something appropriated illegally often by force or violence
the thieves' loot
b
: illicit gains by public officials
c
: money
would not … spend all that loot on her—
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes3
: the action of looting
general loot of church land—Hilaire Belloc
Hilaire Belloc
looted; looting; loots
1
a
: to plunder or sack in war
b
: to rob especially on a large scale and usually by violence or corruption
2
: to seize and carry away by force especially in war
: to engage in robbing or plundering especially in war
looter
noun
Synonyms
Examples of loot in a Sentence
Noun
After raiding the town, the soldiers helped themselves to any loot that they could find.
The thieves got a lot of loot in the robbery.
He made a lot of loot selling cars.
Verb
The soldiers were looting every house that they came to.
Soldiers swept through the territory, looting, burning, and killing.
Recent Examples on the Web
Will McCurdy, PCMAG, 18 Jan. 2025
Being a rogue sheriff in the City of Angels doesn’t pay well, so why not get some of that sweet, sweet illicit loot?
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025
Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 9 Jan. 2025
At least 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of looting during the wildfires raging in Los Angeles County, according to officials.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for loot 
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Noun
The Federal Trade Commission has fined the publisher of Genshin Impact $20 million for allegedly deceitfully marketing loot boxes to children and illegally collecting their data.
—Will McCurdy, PCMAG, 18 Jan. 2025
Being a rogue sheriff in the City of Angels doesn’t pay well, so why not get some of that sweet, sweet illicit loot?
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman warned residents of looters and vowed to punish them Wednesday amid reports of looting in the county as firefighters struggle to contain multiple wildfires raging in Southern California, including the massive Pacific Palisades fire.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 9 Jan. 2025
At least 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of looting during the wildfires raging in Los Angeles County, according to officials.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for loot
Dictionary Entries Near loot
Cite this Entry
“Loot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loot. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
loot
1 of 2 noun
: something stolen or taken by force
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