loot
An object that people take from somewhere, especially during a fight or conflict, like soldiers taking treasure from an enemy's castle.
The word "loot" is often used to describe things taken by someone who wins a battle or enters an abandoned place. Imagine a pirate finding gold and jewels on a shipwreck - that would be loot! It can also refer to goods stolen from a store or house during a riot or burglary. But it's not always negative; sometimes, people might call the valuable items found in an old mansion "loot" if they're lucky enough to discover them.
How common is "loot"?
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
noun
Synonym of booty, goods seized from an enemy by violence, particularly (historical) during the sacking of a town in war or (video games) after successful combat.
Example: India went from being a world-famous exporter of finished cloth into an importer, went from having 27% of world trade to less than 2%. Meanwhile, colonialists like Sir Robert Clive bought their rotten boroughs in England on the proceeds of their loot in India while taking the Hindi word "loot" into their dictionaries as well as their habits.
Real examples of "loot" in context
