Synonyms

ransack

American

[ran-sak] / ˈræn sæk /

verb (used with object)

to search thoroughly or vigorously through (a house, receptacle, etc.).

They ransacked the house for the missing letter.
to search through for plunder; pillage.

The enemy ransacked the entire town.

ransack British

/ ˈrænsæk /

verb

to search through every part of (a house, box, etc); examine thoroughly
to plunder; pillage

"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

Other Word Forms

ransacker noun
unransacked adjective

Etymology

Origin of ransack

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English ransaken, from Old Norse rannsaka “to search, examine (for evidence of crime),” equivalent to rann “house” + saka, variant of sœkja “to search;” seek )

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023