ransack

verb

ran·​sack ˈran-ˌsak 

(ˌ)ran-ˈsak

ransacked; ransacking; ransacks

transitive verb

1

: to look through thoroughly in often a rough way

… he and 15 staff members watched agents ransack the office.

—Christian Caryl et al.

In desperation, I ransacked my refrigerator for something else to whip up.

—Dana Bowen

(figurative) Most novelists ransack their lives for that first novel; it might be called involuntary reporting.

—Tom Wolfe

2

: to search through and steal from in a forceful and damaging way : plunder

Thieves ransacked the house.

Louis XVI was persuaded to risk a navy far from its own shores and to ransack the French arsenals for arms and ammunition …

—C. P. Reynolds

ransacker noun

Did you know?

Ransack carries the image of a house being roughly disarranged, as might happen when you are frantically searching for something. This is appropriate given the word’s origin. Ransack comes, via Middle English, from the Old Norse word rannsaka: the rann in rannsaka means “house”; the second half of rannsaka is what is known as an “ablaut” variant of sœkja, meaning “to seek, search out.” But our modern use of the word isn’t restricted to houses. You can ransack a drawer, a suitcase, or even (by hurriedly looking through it) the contents of a book. Ransack also inspired another English word related to disorder and unsteadiness. A now-obsolete form of ransack, ransackle, gave us our adjective ramshackle, meaning “rickety” or “carelessly or loosely constructed.”

Synonyms

• despoil
• loot
• maraud
• pillage
• plunder
• sack

Examples of ransack in a Sentence

Robbers ransacked the apartment looking for money.

The room had been ransacked.

Recent Examples on the Web

Police are investigating three thefts over the weekend in Fairfield, including one involving two suspects who rammed a vehicle through a storefront before ransacking it. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2024

On December 13, the Israeli army ransacked and vandalized the theater, detaining the artistic director, Ahmed Tobasi, and imprisoning the theater’s general manager, Mustafa Sheta, and recent graduate Jamal Abu Joas. —E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2024

In April, amid the deadly gang violence in Port-au-Prince, armed groups looted and ransacked the National Library in their bid to topple the government. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 June 2024

The other involves a federal statute used to prosecute hundreds of rioters who ransacked the Capitol. —Abbie Vansickle, New York Times, 30 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ransaken, from Old Norse rannsaka, from rann house + -saka (akin to Old English sēcan to seek) — more at seek

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

ransack

verb

ran·​sack ˈran-ˌsak 

(ˈ)ran-ˈsak

1

: to search thoroughly

2

: to search through in order to rob

ransacker noun