ransack
C1/C2Formal, literary, journalistic; can be used in everyday speech for dramatic effect.
Definition
Meaning
To search a place thoroughly and often violently, especially to steal something.
To examine or go through something quickly and thoroughly in search of a specific item or information, often resulting in disorder.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The word strongly implies a violation, disorder, and hurried, aggressive searching. It is typically transitive and rarely used in passive constructions without emphasizing the negative consequence.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. Spelling and pronunciation are consistent.
Connotations
Equally strong connotations of theft, violation, and mess in both dialects.
Frequency
Similar frequency; slightly more common in written news reports and literary contexts than in casual conversation in both regions.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Subject: person/group] ransack [Object: place/container] (for something)[Subject: person] ransack [Object: place/container] in search of [something]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Leave no stone unturned (similar in effort, but without the negative connotation of theft/disorder)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare, except in reports of theft or cyber-attacks (e.g., 'Hackers ransacked the company database').
Academic
Used in historical or sociological texts describing pillaging (e.g., 'The invading army ransacked the library').
Everyday
Used for dramatic effect after a burglary or when a room is left in extreme disorder (e.g., 'The kids ransacked the playroom looking for the lost toy').
Technical
Not typically used in technical fields.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- Burglars ransacked the flat while the owners were on holiday.
- I had to ransack my briefcase to find the train ticket.
American English
- Thieves ransacked the office looking for cash.
- She ransacked her closet for something to wear to the gala.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The police said someone had ransacked the empty house.
- My little brother ransacked my desk looking for sweets.
- After the protest, several shops were completely ransacked.
- I ransacked my memory but couldn't recall where we had met.
- The historical archive was ransacked during the civil war, resulting in an irreplaceable loss of documents.
- Feeling desperate, he ransacked the internet for any scrap of information about the rare disease.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a RANcher who SACKs a town—running in, throwing everything out of bags (sacks), and stealing.
Conceptual Metaphor
SEARCHING IS VIOLENCE / A PLACE IS A CONTAINER TO BE EMPTIED VIOLENTLY.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid using 'обыскать' (to frisk/search a person). Ransack is for places/containers, not people. Closer to 'разгромить' (in the sense of wrecking a place while searching) or 'перерыть'.
Common Mistakes
- Using it intransitively (e.g., 'He ransacked for the key' is wrong). Correct: 'He ransacked the room for the key.'
- Confusing it with 'ransom'.
- Using it for neat searches. Ransacking always implies resultant mess.
Practice
Quiz
Which situation best describes the meaning of 'ransack'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You ransack a place, a container, or a collection of things (a house, a desk, files). Searching a person is 'frisk' or 'search'.
Not exclusively, but it is most common in that context. It can be used hyperbolically for non-criminal but very messy and frantic searching (e.g., 'I ransacked my suitcase for my passport').
To 'ransack' focuses on the violent, messy *act of searching*. To 'loot' focuses on the *act of stealing* goods, especially during a war or riot. A place can be ransacked in the process of being looted.
The act is 'ransacking' (e.g., 'the ransacking of the villa'). There is no common agent noun like 'ransacker'; 'looter' or 'thief' would be used instead.