pillage

[ pil-ij ]
See synonyms for: pillagepillager on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),pil·laged, pil·lag·ing.
  1. to strip ruthlessly of money or goods by open violence, as in war; plunder: The barbarians pillaged every conquered city.

  2. to take as booty.

verb (used without object),pil·laged, pil·lag·ing.
  1. to rob with open violence; take booty: Soldiers roamed the countryside, pillaging and killing.

noun
  1. the act of plundering, especially in war.

  2. booty or spoil.

Origin of pillage

1
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 for pillage

Other words from pillage

  • pil·lag·er, noun
  • un·pil·laged, adjective

Words Nearby pillage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pillage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pillage

pillage

/ (ˈpɪlɪdʒ) /


verb
  1. to rob (a town, village, etc) of (booty or spoils), esp during a war

noun
  1. the act of pillaging

  2. something obtained by pillaging; booty

Origin of pillage

1
C14: via Old French from piller to despoil, probably from peille rag, from Latin pīleus felt cap

Derived forms of pillage

  • pillager, noun

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