French Conversation · Level 110
59 words
French word
piller
Pronunciation
IPA/pije/
Meaning
- verbloot
Example
La foule a commencé à piller les magasins.
The crowd began to loot the stores.
More examples
Il est interdit de piller les sites historiques.
It is forbidden to loot historic sites.
Core concept
Shopfronts emptied as a disorderly crowd carries goods away by force.
Common phrases
piller un magasin
loot a store
piller un supermarché
loot a supermarket
piller une banque
loot a bank
Similar words
voler: To take someone else's property without permission and keep it.
dérober: To secretly take something while distracting its owner.
cambrioler: To break into a home or business to steal property.
saccager: To ransack and destroy a building or place.
Definition in French
S'emparer violemment de marchandises ou d'objets lors de désordres publics, souvent avec destruction des lieux.
Word origin
Old French piller continues Latin pilare, "to strip hair," with the idea of stripping away extending to the forcible removal of goods.
Usage tips
- In the passive, the past participle agrees with the subject, as in la ville a été pillée.