verb
pillage
PIHL-ihj
verb
1
To loot or plunder a place by force, typically during war.
"The invading army pillaged every village along their route."
noun
1
The act of looting, or the goods taken by looting.
"The town never recovered from the pillage of the invasion."
How to Use Pillage
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishViolent looting, usually in wartime.
Common pairings
pillage and plunder
pillage a village
Word Forms
pillaged past tense, pillages plural, pillages singular
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The invading army _____ every village along their route.
Etymology
From Old French piller, "to plunder," possibly ultimately related to Latin pilus, "hair" (via a figurative sense of stripping something bare).