Looting (2024)

FAQs

What does looting mean in slang? ›

These words and loot can also refer more generally to anything stolen or taken in a dishonest way, such as through burglary or embezzlement. Loot can also be used as a verb meaning to steal things in this way.

Looting is a type of theft that occurs when people steal during riots, natural disasters, or other emergency situations. Typically, this is a crime of opportunity, and many people may go on a stealing spree at once at a store or group of stores.

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of loot are booty, plunder, prize, spoils, and spoil. While all these words mean "something taken from another by force or craft," loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe.

Of course, looting is, first and foremost, a form of stealing. As such, depending on how it is perpetrated, the looter may be arrested for petty theft, larceny, grand theft, burglary, or another, similar crime. Some states also have laws that pertain specifically to looting, often with stiffer penalties.

: to steal things from (a place, such as a store or house) during a war or after destruction has been caused by fire, rioting, etc. Rioters looted the stores. The soldiers were looting every house that they came to. The supplies had been looted [=stolen] from the warehouse.

Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting.

It's considered a wobbler, meaning looting can be a felony or misdemeanor depending on if an individual commits petty theft, or burglarizes a residence or a business, or has a criminal history. Consider the following looting charges: Looting by petty theft: Looting involving petty theft is charged as a misdemeanor.

In Penal Code 463 PC, California law defines the crime of looting as taking advantage of a state of emergency to commit burglary, grand theft or petty theft. Looting can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony and is punishable by up to 3 years in jail.

Looting is stealing, which is never legal (though in matters of life or death, it might be excusable). Generally, the penalties for looting in any given state will be the same or similar to the penalties for stealing.

Looting is considered the offence of stealing with the aggravating element of being committed during a natural disaster, civil unrest or industrial dispute. Stealing during a natural disaster can attract a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, double the 5 year maximum for the general offence of stealing.

Where does the word looting come from? ›

Borrowed from Hindi लूट (lūṭ, “booty”), either from Sanskrit लोप्त्र (loptra, “booty, stolen property”) or लुण्ट् (luṇṭ, “to rob, plunder”). The figurative meaning developed in American English in the 1920s, resulting in a generalized meaning by the 1950s.

Definitions of looter. someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war) synonyms: despoiler, freebooter, pillager, plunderer, raider, spoiler.

Penalties

Looting involving petty theft is a misdemeanor offense that can be punished by up to six months in jail and a minimum sentence of 90 days in jail.

Can I shoot a looter in California? California has a law called the Castle Doctrine (CA Penal Code Section 198.5) which allows the use of deadly force if someone forces or breaks their way into their house unlawfully.

The idea that looters can be shot on sight is a complete fabrication. It is a myth. The myth was started by Mayor EE Schmidtz in 1906 and carried forward over a century into our modern psyche. The bottom line is, don't shoot looters because you're the one that would feel the weight of the law.

In his speech on the evening of July 12, 2021, Ramaphosa acknowledged claims that the root causes of the ongoing riots and looting are poverty and unemployment in the country.

It was a sort of military slang at first, used by soldiers during the British rule of India, and spread during mid-19th century conflicts. Eventually it moved beyond the realm of war, applied, for example, to artistic and historical artifacts plundered by Western nations from other countries.

Loot is stolen money or goods. [informal] Most criminals steal in order to sell their loot for cash on the black market. Synonyms: plunder, goods, prize, haul More Synonyms of loot. Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Other terms for looting include “pillaging,” “ransacking,” and “plundering.” Names for the kinds of goods obtained by looting include “booty,” “plunder,” or “spoils.” Sometimes, individuals are stealing things they need in the wake of a disaster, but more often than not it is straight-up robbery.

#Looting is illegal and punishable by law. The police have a duty to seize or recover looted or stolen goods and arrest anyone who in position of looted goods. Dipak Paul and 143 others like this.

What's the difference between looting and burglary? ›

Looting is an atypical theft or burglary crime that takes place during a state of emergency. In order to prevent people from stealing during a time of civil unrest or natural disaster, California has harsh penalties for those who are convicted of looting.

Under these two main categories, there are many different types of theft, including embezzlement, shoplifting, fraud, and robbery. While all of these crimes have the same basic elements, they also have slight variations and different possible punishments if you are found guilty.

Looting violates business owners' property rights. This argument is only defeated if by rioting and looting people obey some higher duty that they could not obey without violating other people's rights. The argument from virtue ethics says that good people don't riot and loot.

Article 293. Who are Guilty of Robbery. — Any person who, with intent to gain, shall take any personal property belonging to another, by means of violence against or intimidation of any person, or using force upon anything, shall be guilty of robbery.

The death penalty in the United States is used almost exclusively for the crime of murder.

The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits the looting of civilian property during wartime.

/ˈluː.tər/ someone, usually one of a large number of people during a violent event, who steals from stores and houses: Looters ransacked stores and set fire to cars. The museum galleries were stripped of artifacts by looters.

What is the opposite of looting? ›

Verb. ▲ (demote) Opposite of to loot or plunder by force. demote. disallow.

Looter is strongly-built, and is of great height; he is almost the height of his father, Encanzo. Said to be good-looking, he has dark hair, a somewhat large nose, and muscular arms.

Government officials say 139 schools in that province and four in Gauteng were targeted, and it would cost more than R300 million to repair them and replace their stolen infrastructure and equipment. Teachers and principals say teaching and learning will be disrupted as a result of the destruction.

The effect of the looting is evident on small and big businesses as well as the economy, increasing unemployment and making it difficult for businesses to recover from their losses. However, there are ripple effects which are not as clear. These include those on the health sector, and by extension the vaccine roll out.

It depends. California's laws concerning self-defense only protect people who use reasonable, proportional force to defend themselves. So if someone breaks into your house unarmed and you shoot them, you are likely to face criminal charges. However, if that person is carrying a gun or really any weapon, fire away.

Can I Shoot Someone to Protect my Property? Texas Penal Code 9.41 permits the use of force to protect property. It does not permit the use of deadly force to merely protect property under most circ*mstances.

Warning shots, when used in self-defense of a person who fears for his or her life, are likely to be legal. However, a warning shot to simply scare a crowd gathered outside your business may be seen as a violent threat, which may mean criminal charges. These are just some general guidelines.

The castle doctrine allows you to use deadly force against the intruder as long as there is an imminent threat. If you shoot a warning shot and the intruder flees, any additional force you take while the intruder is outside of your home/no longer on your property may not be permitted by the castle doctrine.

In reality, the difference between the two is very simple: the goal of an archaeologist is to learn about culture through objects that have been preserved through time, whereas the goal of a looter is to collect and profit from these objects.

Using deadly force to shoot an intruder entering your home may be justified under Arizona's Castle Doctrine and self-defense statutes. However, shooting someone who is stealing your car from your driveway may result in a murder charge.

Can you shoot looters in Ohio? ›

Protecting Your Property

Things can get a bit confusing here. While you can use force to protect your property and possessions, you cannot use deadly force to protect against theft in Ohio.

37. What does Looted mean on TikTok? The term 'looted' was popularised by TikToker user @chasinn. loot. The word is a synonym for “drip” and “swag”, used to describe someone's outfit or style.

Looting in South Africa has taken place intermittently for decades in the context of an ongoing crisis of poverty, inequality and unemployment. It occurred under apartheid and continued to take place after democracy 1994. But it has traditionally been largely confined to marginalised urban and peri-urban areas.

The Looting enchantment increases the amount of loot that is dropped when a mob is killed. You can add the Looting enchantment to any sword using an enchanting table, anvil, or game command. Then use the enchanted sword to fight and see your enemies drop more items when they die!!

History has many examples of victorious armies removing the cultural property of the enemy they have just defeated as the 'spoils of war', which is known today as pillage (that is, looting by armies, rather than looting by civilians). At one time, it was common practice for armies to pay their troops in this way.

looted; looting; loots. transitive verb. : to plunder or sack in war. : to rob especially on a large scale and usually by violence or corruption. : to seize and carry away by force especially in war.

booty; spoils or plunder taken by pillaging; to ransack, plunder: loot the art museums.

Keep track of your savings goal in a personalised 3D money jar and feel rewarded for every dollar you put away! Loot helps you calculate how long it will take you to save for your goal based on the amount you want put away. A savings plan is created for you and you'll receive push notifications to keep you on track.

Resulting protests against the incarceration triggered wider rioting and looting, much of it said to be undertaken by people not in support of Zuma and fuelled by job layoffs and economic inequality worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic policies.

How will looting affect SA economy? ›

The violence and looting stands on record as the most expensive riot, costing some R50-billion in output. An estimated 150 000 jobs were put at risk. “If they [bouts of violence] are going to continue, they will have a negative impact on business confidence and potential future investment.

The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits the looting of civilian property during wartime. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 (modified in 1954) obliges military forces not only to avoid destruction of enemy property, but to provide protection to it.

(demote) Opposite of to loot or plunder by force. demote. disallow. discourage. fail.

#Looting is illegal and punishable by law. The police have a duty to seize or recover looted or stolen goods and arrest anyone who in position of looted goods.