Meaning of "ransack" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD RANSACK

From Old Norse rann house + saka to search, seek.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF RANSACK

ransack  [ˈrænsæk]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF RANSACK

Ransack is a verb.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb ransack in English.

WHAT DOES RANSACK MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Looting

Looting, also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging, is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as war, natural disaster, or rioting. The term is also used in a broader sense to describe egregious instances of theft and embezzlement, such as the "plundering" of private or public assets by corrupt or greedy authorities. Looting is loosely distinguished from scavenging in terms of objects taken: scavenging implies taking of essential items such as food, water, shelter, or other material needed for survival while looting implies items of luxury or not necessary for survival such as art work, precious metals or other valuables. The proceeds of all these activities can be described as loot, plunder, spoils, or pillage.

Definition of ransack in the English dictionary

The definition of ransack in the dictionary is to search through every part of ; examine thoroughly. Other definition of ransack is to plunder; pillage.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO RANSACK

PRESENT

Present

I ransack

you ransack

he/she/it ransacks

we ransack

you ransack

they ransack

Present continuous

I am ransacking

you are ransacking

he/she/it is ransacking

we are ransacking

you are ransacking

they are ransacking

Present perfect

I have ransacked

you have ransacked

he/she/it has ransacked

we have ransacked

you have ransacked

they have ransacked

Present perfect continuous

I have been ransacking

you have been ransacking

he/she/it has been ransacking

we have been ransacking

you have been ransacking

they have been ransacking

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I ransacked

you ransacked

he/she/it ransacked

we ransacked

you ransacked

they ransacked

Past continuous

I was ransacking

you were ransacking

he/she/it was ransacking

we were ransacking

you were ransacking

they were ransacking

Past perfect

I had ransacked

you had ransacked

he/she/it had ransacked

we had ransacked

you had ransacked

they had ransacked

Past perfect continuous

I had been ransacking

you had been ransacking

he/she/it had been ransacking

we had been ransacking

you had been ransacking

they had been ransacking

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will ransack

you will ransack

he/she/it will ransack

we will ransack

you will ransack

they will ransack

Future continuous

I will be ransacking

you will be ransacking

he/she/it will be ransacking

we will be ransacking

you will be ransacking

they will be ransacking

Future perfect

I will have ransacked

you will have ransacked

he/she/it will have ransacked

we will have ransacked

you will have ransacked

they will have ransacked

Future perfect continuous

I will have been ransacking

you will have been ransacking

he/she/it will have been ransacking

we will have been ransacking

you will have been ransacking

they will have been ransacking

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would ransack

you would ransack

he/she/it would ransack

we would ransack

you would ransack

they would ransack

Conditional continuous

I would be ransacking

you would be ransacking

he/she/it would be ransacking

we would be ransacking

you would be ransacking

they would be ransacking

Conditional perfect

I would have ransack

you would have ransack

he/she/it would have ransack

we would have ransack

you would have ransack

they would have ransack

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been ransacking

you would have been ransacking

he/she/it would have been ransacking

we would have been ransacking

you would have been ransacking

they would have been ransacking

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you ransack
we let´s ransack
you ransack

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to ransack

Past participle

ransacked

Present Participle

ransacking

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «RANSACK»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «ransack» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of ransack

comb · despoil · explore · forage · fossick · go through · gut · loot · pillage · plunder · raid · ravage · rifle · sack · scour · search · strip

TRANSLATION OF RANSACK

Find out the translation of ransack to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of ransack from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «ransack» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 洗劫
• Translator English - Spanish: saquear
• English: ransack
• Translator English - Hindi: लूटना
• Translator English - Arabic: نهب
• Translator English - Russian: рыскать
• Translator English - Portuguese: revistar
• Translator English - Bengali: তন্ন তন্ন করা
• Translator English - French: saccager
• Translator English - Malay: Ransack
• Translator English - German: plündern
• Translator English - Japanese: 荒らし回る
• Translator English - Korean: 뒤지다
• Translator English - Javanese: Ransack
• Translator English - Vietnamese: kiếm
• Translator English - Tamil: இடத்துக்கு
• Translator English - Marathi: लुटणे
• Translator English - Turkish: yağma etmek
• Translator English - Italian: saccheggiare
• Translator English - Polish: plądrować
• Translator English - Ukrainian: нишпорити
• Translator English - Romanian: răscoli
• Translator English - Greek: διερευνώ
• Translator English - Afrikaans: plunder
• Translator English - Swedish: genomsöka
• Translator English - Norwegian: ransake

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «RANSACK»

Discover the use of ransack in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to ransack and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Ransack and Dance: Poems

Every word is where it is for a reason, and every sound is where it is for a reason. And those reasons add up to surprise and delight. This is the rarest thing for a collection of poems: there is not a line of prose in it!

Chris Forhan, 2013

Ransack: A Novel

"A first novel almost perfect of its kind."--"Louisville Courier-Journal"

Michael Henson, Mike Henson, 1987

Ancient World: Reader, 5th ed.

How. to. Ransack. a. Book. Roberta. H. Winter. After serving as a missionary to a Guatemalan tribal group for ten years, Roberta H. Winter co-founded the U.S. Center for World Mission. Roberta was a mother offour daughters, all ofwhom are  ...

‎

Encyclopaedia perthensis, or, Universal dictionary of the ...

Their vow is made to ransack Troy. SbaJt. Men by his suggestion taught, Ransack' d the centre. Milton. The ransack' d city, taken by our toils, We left,. Dryden. The spoils which they from ransack 'd houses brought. . Drjden. a. To search ...

‎1816

Ransack (Transformers)

Ransack is a Decepticon warrior and a member of the Insecticons who turns into a locust. In Dreamwave's The War Within series Venom, Chopshop and Ransack were members of Ratbat's Ultracons faction.

Lambert M Surhone, Mariam T Tennoe, Susan F Henssonow, 2011

Encyclopaedia Perthensis; Or Universal Dictionary of the ...

To RANSACK. v. a. [ran, Saxon , and saka, Swedish, to search for or seize.] 1. To plunder; to pillage. — From other covetous fiends it to defend, Who it to rob and ransack did intend. Sprnfir. Their vow is made to ransack Troy. Sbak. Men by his  ...

‎1816

Hindi Kriya Kosh

[and to go away/again/) 9. fig. far - ) [to come and] to rummage through, to ransack (a house...) [and to go away /again/) 10. fa^T"- - ) to dig (a grave...) /as an action that is extreme and is performed rather quickly/ 11. (faft, TTfT- - ) to dig out  ...

Helmut Nesiptaal, 2008

Mastering Algorithms with Perl

Ransack Search People, like computers, use searching algorithms. Here's one familiar to any parent — the ransack search. As searching algorithms go, it's atrocious, but that doesn't stop three-year-olds. The particular variant described here ...

Jon Orwant, Jarkko Hietaniemi, John Macdonald, 1999

My Subconscious

Ransack. World. Wallowing in ones bloody remorse Led captive straight into the source Gunned down by the lawful mans brutal force Into the pastures I once ran There, I couldn't find Satan's black horse I kept on the run, plotting a new course ...

Levi J. Davis

The Tales of Tsundar

Ransack,. the. Monster. Child. As the sunsets the monsters comes out to play, one such was Ransack a child that neither belongs in the monster world, nor human world. Born from the blood of human father, and a monstrous mother, he fits in ...

Metha Metharom

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «RANSACK»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term ransack is used in the context of the following news items.

Burglars armed with hammer and knife ransack Chigwell home

Police are appealing for information following the incident in Lambourne Road, Chigwell, between 3.30pm and 3.45pm. The two burglars threatened a man ... «Ilford Recorder 24, Jul 15»

Armed men ransack Chris Brown's home

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police say three armed men in masks forced their way into the Los Angeles home of Chris Brown , locked a female relative of the singer ... «USA TODAY, Jul 15»

Elderly woman held down as burglars ransack La Jolla home

SAN DIEGO – An 82-year-old woman was recovering Tuesday morning after two men held her down while burglarizing her home in La Jolla, police said. «fox5sandiego.com, Jul 15»

Thieves ransack Blenheim charity kitchen

A Blenheim charity which provides free or low-cost meals to those in need has been burgled. More than $200 was stolen from John's Kitchen after offenders ... «Stuff.co.nz, Jul 15»

Vandals ransack Lincoln Park Aquatic Center in Marion

MARION, Ohio (WCMH)-The Marion Police department is asking for the public's help in finding those responsible for vandalizing the Lincoln Park Family Aquatic ... «NBC4i.com, Jun 15»

Villagers ransack Hapur Collectorate over dowry death case

Scores of irate villagers today manhandled the Additional District Magistrate and ransacked the Collectorate here for alleged inaction by the authorities in a case ... «Business Standard, Jun 15»

Teens ransack Claremore school, set home on fire

Claremore police are looking for information after they say five teens broke into a local school, then set a house on fire. According to police, the teens entered ... «KOKI FOX 23, Jun 15»

Robbers tie up Mid-City man with shoelaces, ransack home

A Mid-City man is recovering after a brazen attack at his home Thursday on David Street near Canal. MOREAdditional LinksPoll. Merlin, who did not want to give ... «FOX 8 News WVUE-TV, May 15»

Armed burglars ransack Ingleside residence with women home

A pair of armed men robbed two young women at their house in Ingleside on Wednesday, stealing a handgun and electronics. The women, aged 18 and 20, ... «San Francisco Examiner, May 15»

Report: Victims zip-tied as robbers ransack home

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- The residents of a North Charleston home were tied up and robbed early Tuesday morning by several masked men ... «ABC NEWS 4, May 15»