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Meanings of ransacking in English

A thorough search for something (often causing disorder or confusion)

Usage of ransacking in English
1
If a burglar was ransacking Bedelia Morse's house, that was his business.
Mine
2
War Paint and her companions were ransacking the rest of the house.
The Underdogs: A Novel of the Mexican Revolution
3
The ransacking of the house and barn and outbuildings was swiftly accomplished.
Tuck
4
She felt hardly equal to the task of ransacking desks and drawers.
The Apartment Next Door
5
There is no question of torture or soldiers ransacking the house.
The eyes of a king
6
I heard them when they were ransacking my house looking for my journal.
Keeping christmas
7
There is also no sign of struggle or ransacking in the motel room.
Homicide: a year on the killing streets
8
Why, for example, are Arsenal themselves not ransacking this treasure trove?
The Irish Times
9
Imagine - protesters overrunning Moldova's parliament and ransacking its president's office.
NS13 Zero Hour (2010)
10
Why would the professional hitman bother ransacking drawers in the house?
Radio NZ
11
In some places men were ransacking abandoned supplies, stealing what they could carry.
Where heaven begins
12
Mr. Cuthbert appeared to be ransacking the corners of his brain for words.
A Modern Chronicle — Volume 05
13
While some of the soldiers were ill-treating her others were ransacking her wardrobes.
The New York Times Current History, A Monthly Magazine / The Eur...
14
He moved out into the office and began hurriedly ransacking the desk there.
And the deep blue sea
15
She was staring at him vacantly, as though ransacking the depths of memory.
Prince or Chauffeur? A Story of Newport
16
Not to mention the ransacking of the enormous warehouse that is literary tradition.
The Guardian
About this term
Ransacking through the time
Ransacking across language varieties
United Kingdom
Common
United States of America
Common