Word a Day
ransack
What does ransack mean?
ransack (verb): to search (a place, through things, etc.) thoroughly, especially when vigorous and leaving behind a state of disarray.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you pronounce ransack?
/ˈɹænˌsæk/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does ransack come from?
The verb is derived from Middle English ransaken (“to examine, investigate; to rob, plunder, steal; to search, seek; to treat roughly, mistreat”), from Old Norse rannsaka (“to search a house (especially for stolen goods)”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Words related to ransack
From Princeton WordNet 3.1.
Test yourself: do you know “ransack”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “ransack” mean?
to impart (something) gratuitously; to present (something) to someone or something, especially as a gift or an honor
Not quite: that's what bestow means.
to introduce (something) as a reasoned conclusion; to conclude by reasoning or deduction, as from premises or evidence
Not quite: that's what infer means.
to search (a place, through things, etc.) thoroughly, especially when vigorous and leaving behind a state of disarray
Right! That's what “ransack” means.
to get away from by cunning; to avoid by using dexterity, subterfuge, address, or ingenuity; to cleverly escape from
Not quite: that's what evade means.
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