MEANING
To search a place very thoroughly, often leaving it untidy or damaged.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- ransack a house
- ransack the drawers
On the page
Someone had ransacked the study without touching the cash in the desk.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- ransack
- Past tense
- ransacked
- Past participle
- ransacked
- Present participle
- ransacking
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- ransack
- Present continuous
- am/is/are ransacking
- Present perfect
- have/has ransacked
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been ransacking
- Past
- ransacked
- Past continuous
- was/were ransacking
- Past perfect
- had ransacked
- Past perfect continuous
- had been ransacking
- Future
- will ransack
- Future continuous
- will be ransacking
- Future perfect
- will have ransacked
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been ransacking
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: ransack; ransacks; ransacked; ransacked; ransacking Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, action. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: ransacks.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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