- to rob (a town, village, etc) of (booty or spoils), esp during a war
- the act of pillaging
- something obtained by pillaging; booty
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pil•lage /ˈpɪlɪdʒ/USA pronunciation
v., -laged, -lag•ing, n.
v.
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026v.
- to steal goods by open violence and force, as in war;
plunder: [no object]The invaders raped and pillaged as they went.[~ + object]The invaders pillaged several towns.
n. [uncountable]
- stealing goods through violence or force, as in a war.
pil•lage
(pil′ij),USA pronunciation v., -laged, -lag•ing, n.
v.t.
v.i.
n.
pil′lag•er, n.
v.t.
- to strip ruthlessly of money or goods by open violence, as in war;
plunder:The barbarians pillaged every conquered city. - to take as booty.
v.i.
- to rob with open violence;
take booty:Soldiers roamed the countryside, pillaging and killing.
n.
- the act of plundering, esp. in war.
- booty or spoil.
- Middle English pilage (see pill3, -age), modeled on Middle French pillage (derivative of piller to pillage, origin, originally, to abuse, mistreat, tear, of uncertain origin, originally) 1350–1400
- 1. rob, sack, spoil, despoil, rape. 4. rapine, depredation, spoliation. 5. plunder.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pillage /ˈpɪlɪdʒ/ vb
'pillage' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):